


I Just Wanna Build You Up

by Ashleyparker2815



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Kid Peter Parker, Nightmares, Other, Parent Tony Stark, Past Rape/Non-con, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Tony Stark, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-12-02
Packaged: 2020-04-08 10:50:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 22
Words: 70,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19105603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ashleyparker2815/pseuds/Ashleyparker2815
Summary: Tony Stark never imagined that one day he would be adopting a 9-year old boy but after he finds out what is going on in this child’s life, he decides to take matters into his own hands.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had this idea about two nights ago to write this when I couldn’t sleep and I’m really excited to be writing it:))) ok so I suck at summaries so I hope I explained it right. 
> 
> Just to point out and to clarify before you guys read:  
> -peter is living with his aunt and uncle still  
> -Peter is 9  
> -Peters Uncle is really abusive towards him in many ways  
> I’m so sorry I love Uncle Ben for raising Peter but I had to make him like this for this story

Tony Stark is a very powerful man. He has his company that he runs, well, he handed his company over to his Fiancé but he is still a very powerful man. 

That’s why when he heard that someone by the name of Ben Parker was taking medicine from the labs in Stark Tower and was secretly bringing them over to Oscorp Industries he personally went and fired the man and had him threatened to be put away behind bars for the rest of his life if he ever showed his face around Stark Tower again. 

Tony went on about his day after that happened not expecting to hear anything about it again. 

This wasn’t the first time that Tony had to fire someone, obviously, and it probably wasn’t gonna be the last. 

But that was over two weeks ago and now there was a May Parker sitting in Peppers office begging for her husbands job back.

May was sitting in front of the Pepper Potts and as much as it was exciting and intimidating all at the same time she had to remain calm because she was here for one reason and one reason only which was to get her husbands job back. 

“Mrs. Potts, please. You have to give my husband his job back” May pleaded “He made a mistake and he honestly didn’t mean to do it” 

Pepper looked at the women sitting across from her as she listened to what she had to say. Pepper technically did have the power to re hire this women’s husband but she knew what the man did and she knew that Tony was not happy about it. 

Pepper watched as the woman, May, used her hands a lot when she talked. She was wearing a bright yellow zipper sweater with black pants and her long brown chocolate hair was in a half up half down hairstyle. 

She kept waving her hands all over the place and the blue and green butterfly bracelet that she had on kept jiggling on her wrist. 

Pepper listened to her talk and from what she was saying it sounded like she really cared about her husband. 

She stopped talking and then looked at Pepper and waited for her to respond. 

“I’m very sorry Mrs. Parker but there is nothing I can do. Your husband stole from Stark Industries so there is no way he can get his job back” Pepper said. She really was sorry but there wasn’t anything she could do. 

Pepper watched as May let out a big breath. She put her face in her hands and Pepper thought that she was crying but then she lifted her head up and wasn’t. 

She looked mad but not at Pepper. 

Pepper really admired her persistence on getting this meeting with her. 

Pepper doesn’t usually do meetings like this and for reasons like this but she could tell that May wasn’t gonna stop until she got what she wanted. 

“I have a kid” May said after a few seconds of silence. 

“That’s wonderful” Pepper said because she didn’t know what else to say at the odd statement. 

May continued “He’s not actually my kid but my sister and her husband died a few years ago and they left behind their kid. Ben and I have been raising him” 

May stopped talking and looked out the window then she continued “He’s only nine years old and we never wanted kids, Ben and I. We wanted to travel the world eventually but kids are expensive you know, well, you wouldn’t know since you don’t have kids but you can imagine how expensive they are. They need new pants every other week because they grow so fast and eat everything in the house” May laughed and looked at Pepper then looked back out the window. 

“We never wanted kids but we love him anyways. He’s so smart and cute and he’s so curious and just wants to know everything” May stopped and looked down at her lap. 

Pepper didn’t understand why May was telling her about her kid. It’s not that she didn’t care but it was very random and Pepper had better things to do than to listen to this women’s life story. 

Pepper watched as May looked down at her hands and she seemed to be struggling with what she was gonna say next. 

“About a year ago Ben, my husband, he got into a bar fight with this man and he almost killed the guy and ever since then he hasn’t been the same. Instead of going out to drink at- at bars every night, he drinks at h-home. With our nine year old” May looked up from her lap at Pepper and Pepper leaned forward because she was suddenly very interested in the conversation. 

“Ben was never a violent person but something in him changed. He started hitting Peter, our nine year old” May chocked on a sob “I came home one day and he was dragging Peter by the arm into his room. I yelled at him to stop but it continued. It continued for a few months even after I tried to stop it, he would never hit me even when I begged him to hit me instead of Peter, he never did” 

Pepper handed May a box of Kleenex for her to continue because she was crying now. 

“He-he never stopped and it only got worse. A few months ago he started-he started sexually abusing Peter” May let out another sob and brought the Kleenex up to her eyes. 

Pepper sat back in shock. Did she actually just hear what this lady just told her. Some man was sexually assaulting a child. 

Pepper felt her heart beat getting faster and faster. 

She took a calming breath and spoke “Why don’t you go to the police?” 

May looked up at Pepper like she was slapped “I can’t call the police. I love my husband and he’ll be sent to prison” 

This time it was Peppers turn to look like she was slapped “Your son is getting sexually assaulted by this man-“

“He’s not my son” May pointed out. She said it like she was annoyed and used to people calling Peter her son. 

“You can’t let him continue doing this to a child” Pepper said getting ready to call the police herself. Although she had no proof. For all she knew, May could be making this up just so Pepper feels bad and gives her husband his job back. 

“I’ve tried to stop it-“ 

“How long?” Pepper cut her off to ask. May looked confused so Pepper clarified “How long has your husband been... sexually assaulting Peter?” 

May looked away seeming to think. It was way too long for Pepper and she felt the sudden need to vomit. 

“About seven months” 

Pepper sat back in her seat again and put her head in her hands. She took a few calming breaths then looked up. 

“You are going to call the police on your husband or I will” Pepper said standing up and pointing her finger at May “Now, can you please leave”

May stood up and grabbed her purse from the chair next to her and left without looking at Pepper. 

Once she was gone Pepper shut the door and sat down on one of the couches that was next to the big bay windows in her office. 

She took a few moments to try and calm down before she lost it. 

She looked out onto the city and thought about Peter. This little boy that she has never seen, she’s never even heard of him until today and she already felt attached. 

She thought about what he was doing right now. It was 12:30pm so he would still be in school but what happens after school. 

Is he gonna go home and get raped by this evil man that was supposed to be his family. Supposed to be someone that Peter was supposed to trust. 

Pepper got up and left. She left her office and slammed her door in a hunt to go find Tony. 

.  
.  
.

“Come on, FRIDAY. Show me what you’ve got” Tony said. He was currently knee deep (literally) in his armour. 

Tony was trying to improve the knee bending on his armour because he needed it to absorb more of the shock when he landed so he wasn’t in a knee brace by the time he’s fifty. 

He was too distracted by his work that he didn’t hear Pepper walk in. 

“Tony!” Pepper yelled. 

Tony turned around and saw her standing there looking mad. He smiled and lifted his leg out of his armour before moving to sit on one of his stools. 

“Oh! Hi! What can I do for you-“ 

“Tony!” Pepper yelled again. She walked over to him and crossed her arms. 

Tony held up his arms. He didn’t think she was mad at him because he didn’t do anything wrong. Maybe? 

“Remember Ben Parker?” She asked and at no response she continued “That man that stole from you that you fired?” 

Ah. Tony remembers him. 

“Yeah” He said still unsure what was going on. 

“I was just in my office talking to his wife” Pepper said and Tony wondered why she was coming down here just to tell him that but then she continued. 

“They have a nephew that they are raising together because his parents died and-and Ben is sexually assaulting the boy” 

Tony’s eyes widened at what he just heard. Did he actually just hear that. 

Tony stood up in his stool then sat back down and grabbed his arc rector. 

He felt like his heart was coming out of his chest. He had to look down just to make sure it wasn’t. 

Wait... was it his fault? Was it his fault that the boy was getting sexually assaulted by his uncle all because Tony fired him? 

Honestly if it was his fault he would pay Oscorp to take his stuff if it would stop what is happening to this boy. 

“Is it- is it my fault?” Tony asked Pepper. He was scared of the answer. 

Pepper looked at him for a few seconds then shook her head “No. It’s been happening for about seven months” 

That didn’t help. He would rather it be his fault and be two weeks than seven whole months of that. 

Tony sat up and walked over to Pepper “What’s his name?” 

“Peter Parker” 

Tony left after that. He needed to help this kid.


	2. What can I do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so sorry for making May such a horrible person but I have to:/ also the beginning of this chapter I had a really hard time writing so it’s kinda odd. I had the idea for this story to start off and the rest of my ideas are like later on so just getting through the first couple chapters are gonna be hard but I’m gonna do it

Tony walked down to the medical part of the Stark Tower where they did the research and science experiments for medical research. 

He wanted to know who had taken over Ben Parker’s job. It wasn’t like he was gonna rehire the man but he just felt like he needed to know who was replacing him. 

Tony walked down and barged into the room like he owned the place. Well, he did own the place. 

He found out that it was a man named Sam Johnson and he looked over some files on the man and he checked out. 

Tony didn’t really know why he felt the need to know this kind of information but he just did. 

After that Tony made his way back into his lab on his private floor. 

Pepper had already left to go somewhere and Tony didn’t really care. 

He had work to do. 

Tony began with doing a background check on Ben Parker. 

He found an almost clean record. Besides from the fact that he stole pens when he was twenty and his bar fight Tony didn’t see any other problems with the man. 

He ended up finding out information on the man from everything to his high school report cards to what he bought at the store last week. 

He wanted to know everything on this man. 

Tony ended up staying in the lab all night to find out information on this guy. He didn’t even realize that the time was so late if it wasn’t for FRIDAY telling him to go to bed. 

.  
.  
.

Pepper woke up the next day at around 6am. 

She didn’t sleep good at all. 

She kept thinking about Peter and what was happening right now at his house and if he was safe or if he was in the hands of his uncle. 

Pepper would have woke Tony up but he had just gone to bed under an hour ago so she decided to let him sleep. 

Pepper got ready and went down to her office. 

She was surprised to see May Parker sitting on one of the waiting chairs outside of her office. 

She never had meetings this early but she wasn’t all that surprised to see May waiting for her. 

Pepper walked closer and opened up her office doors. May stood up and walked closer to her. 

“Good morning Mrs. Parker” Pepper said then she opened her door and stopped in the entrance. 

“Good morning. I’m sorry to be here again but I just had to talk to you again” May said. She looked really tired. Her hair was sticking up and looked like there was some blue jelly in it. 

“I already told you, I cannot give your husband his job back. I’m sorry” Pepper said looking at May. She genuinely was sorry but there was nothing she could do. 

“Can we still talk?” May asked hopefully. 

Pepper nodded her head and gave a weak smile as she stepped aside to let May in. 

May stopped and turned around and held her hand out for something “Let’s go Peter” 

Pepper felt her heart skip a beat. She looked over at what May was holding her hand out for and saw Peter. 

She didn’t even see anyone over there before. Peter was busy playing with one of his toys when May called him and he walked over. 

Pepper watched as Peter looked up from playing with his toy on the ground. He ran over to his Aunt and grabbed her hand. 

Peter looked up at Pepper and Peppers heart melted. 

Peter had the biggest brown eyes ever. He had curly chocolate brown hair and his cheeks were so round and chubby it made him look like a baby. 

He gave Pepper a little smile and then looked down at his toy. 

Pepper looked at the toy and saw that it was an Iron Man action figure. 

May and Peter walked into the office and Pepper followed then sat down at her desk. 

May guided Peter over to the office chairs and sat down then Peter followed. 

“Peter, do you know who this is?” May asked slowly. 

Peter looked up at May and then Pepper and back at May then shook his head. 

Pepper noticed how his curls bounced on his forehead and she felt the need to touch them. 

“This is Pepper Potts” May said pointing to Pepper. 

Peter nodded then looked up at Pepper and gave her a tiny wave. 

“Hi Peter” Pepper said. Peter just looked at her then sank down in his seat. 

Pepper looked at Peter and noticed that he looked extremely small for his age. He was nine years old but he looked like a seven year old with his height and weight. 

That made Pepper feel even more bad for Peter because that means that he was probably not getting the best diet. 

May pulled Pepper out of her thoughts by speaking “Is there nothing that you can do for my husband?” 

Pepper shook her head “Peter, would you like to go play over there?” 

Peter looked to where Pepper was pointing then looked at his Aunt. His Aunt nodded so then Peter got up and sat down on the carpet by the chairs. 

Once Peter was busy playing Pepper spoke to May. 

“Like I said yesterday, May, there is nothing we can do for your husband. You’re very lucky we aren’t having him put in jail for what he did” 

“Alright then, I’m sorry I wasted your time, again” May stood up and walked over to Peter “I have to get him to school now” 

Pepper stood up as well. She didn’t want to see Peter leave but there was nothing she could do about it. 

“Get up Peter-“ May almost yelled which caused Peter to flinch and stand up right away. 

May was cut off by her phone ringing “Hello?” 

May left Peter and walked out of the room to answer the call in privacy so Pepper took that as an opportunity to talk to Peter. 

She sat down on one of the chairs and watched as Peter sat there on his knees looking scared and confused. 

“Your Aunt will be back, she’s just on the phone” Pepper told him. 

Peter looked up at Pepper with big brown eyes and nodded but he still looked scared and confused. 

“I like your toy” Pepper pointed out “you know, I know Iron Man”

Peters eyes went wide, even wider if that was possible and sat up straighter. 

“You know Iron Man?” Peter asked disbelief. 

Pepper nodded her head and smiled “He’s my fiancé and I’m pretty sure he’s still sleeping right now” 

Peter giggled and showed his two front teeth that were missing and Pepper felt her heart explode at the sight. 

“Is Iron Man here?” Peter asked moving closer to Pepper. 

“Yep. He’s upstairs” Pepper pointed to the ceiling and Peter looked up. 

It looked like Peter was about to say something else but then May walked in and grabbed Peters arm. 

Pepper stood up with them completely taken back by the aggressive behaviour towards Peter. 

“I can’t drive you to school so your uncle will come and get you. He’s stressed so be good for him” May said dragging Peter out of the room like Pepper wasn’t even there. 

Pepper went to grab Peters other arm but she thought better of it. She moved to stand in front of the office door. 

“He doesn’t have to come all the way down here. I can take him to school, it’s no problem” Pepper waved off. Anything so Peter didn’t have to go with his uncle. 

“He’s already on his way so don’t worry about it” May said annoyed. 

Pepper tried again “You can call him and tell him not to come because I’m leaving anyways so I can take him” 

May seemed to think about it for a few seconds before signing and nodding her head. 

She pulled out her phone and probably texted Ben to let him know. 

“Thanks. I have to get his backpack and car seat from the car” May said. She put her phone in her pocket and let go of Peters arm. 

“You can just leave it in the lobby with the front desk” Pepper told her. 

“Be Good Peter” May said then she turned and left. 

Pepper was surprised that she didn’t even hug or kiss Peter goodbye and was surprised how she just left so easily like that. 

Pepper looked down at the child “What time does your school start at?” 

Peter didn’t answer her for a few seconds as he just watched the door that his Aunt just walked out of. 

He looked up at Pepper after awhile “My school starts at 8:30” 

Pepper checked the time and saw that it was only 7:15 so they still had lots of time. 

She got the sudden idea to introduce Peter to Tony. She couldn’t wait to see how excited the boy would be. 

“I got an idea” Pepper said. 

“What?” Peter asked curiously. 

“Do you want to meet Iron Man?” 

Peter squealed really loud and began bouncing up and down. 

“Yeah!” 

“Okay! Let’s hope he’s awake” Pepper started walking with Peter over to the elevator. 

She felt something touch her hand and she looked down to see Peter trying to hold her hand so she grabbed his hand back. 

They went into the elevator with Peter standing really close to her. 

Pepper started to wonder if it was true if Peter actually was getting sexually assaulted or not because she didn’t know much about people who have been sexually assaulted but she knew that they didn’t like to be close to people and needed their personal space. 

She just guessed that Peter was a kid and didn’t know what personal space even meant.

When the elevator doors opened up Pepper felt Peter go stiff. 

She guessed that this was a big deal for a child. He was in a new place with random people and his Aunt just left him and he was about to meet a childhood hero. 

“FRIDAY, where’s Tony?” Pepper asked as she lead both of them out of the elevator. 

“Boss is currently in the kitchen” FRIDAY said. 

Peter looked around nervously. He didn’t know where this random voice was coming from. 

“That’s just Tony’s AI. FRIDAY say hi to Peter” 

“Hello Peter. It is very nice to meet you” FRIDAY said in her interesting accent that Pepper always wondered how Tony chose it. 

Peter went even closer to Pepper and waved. 

Pepper smiled and tried to hide a laugh because she was sure Peter wasn’t even sure what he was waving at. 

“Tony’s over here, honey” Pepper said then led Peter down the hallway and into the kitchen. 

They found Tony reading a box of cereal and waiting for his coffee to make itself. It was his second one by the looks of it. 

Peter stopped walking and let out a tiny gasp. He let go of Peppers hand and covered his mouth. 

Tony looked over at Pepper then looked down and saw a child standing there. 

Tony looked at Peter and then looked back up at Pepper. He didn’t really know why there was a kid in his kitchen. Maybe he should have gotten more sleep because he was seeing things. 

“This is Peter, Tony. Bens nephew” Pepper said and she watched as the realization as to who Peter is hit Tony. 

Tony almost dropped the box he was holding in his hand. He stepped closer to Peter and tried to regain his composure. 

“Hey Peter” Tony said. 

Peter removed his hands from his face and smiled really wide “You’re Iron Man!” 

Tony laughed “yep, that’s me” 

Peter walked closer to Tony and started bouncing on the balls of his feet “You save all the good people from the bad people and you blow things up” 

“Yeah, well, I don’t blow things up anymore unless I need to” Tony said. He bend down to his knees so he was at eye level with Peter. 

“I have Iron Man bedsheets at my house before they got ruined” Peter said sadly. 

“It’s okay. I’ll get you new bedsheets” Tony tried to say to cheer the boy up. 

“But only Iron Man ones, right?” Peter looked up at Tony. Even though Tony was on his knees he was still taller than Peter. 

“Right” Tony agreed. He’s done a lot of things in his life but he’s never just met someone and then promised to buy them bedsheets. 

Tony stood up and looked at Pepper. They both shared the same look of ‘what the fuck’ 

Pepper walked over to the fridge and opened it “Are you hungry, Peter?” 

Peter turned to Pepper and sly nodded his head. 

“What do you want to eat, honey?” 

Peter shrugged his shoulders and stood there awkwardly. 

“Well I’m starving so we should make some pancakes or something” Tony said. He walked over to the cupboard and grabbed a box of pre made pancake batter. 

“Do you want to eat some pancakes with me?” Tony asked Peter and Peter nodded his head. 

“I’m a really good cook so watch out” Tony joked and smiled when he heard Peter giggle. 

“It’s not cooking if you’re just pouring the batter in” Peter said then gave Tony a cheeky smile. 

“Still counts” Tony said back. 

He gave Pepper a smile because he already liked this kid. 

Once the pancakes were made, Pepper grabbed out two plates for Tony and Peter and one cup, Tony had his coffee mug. 

“What do you want to drink, Peter?” Pepper asked opening the fridge. 

“Um, apple juice?” Peter asked shyly. 

Pepper was thankful that Tony was addicted to apple juice almost as much as he was coffee. 

“Thank you” Peter grabbed the cup from Pepper and used both of his hands to hold the giant cup with both of his tiny hands. 

Pepper looked over at Tony watching Peter and smiled because she could tell that Tony really liked this kid. 

Tony and Peter ate their pancakes with Peter asking Tony a bunch of questions about the Iron Man. 

Pepper noticed how Peter surprisingly seemed less shy when he wasn’t with his Aunt. 

Peter was talking like he was just a normal child that wasn’t believed to be sexually assaulted. 

Pepper wanted to ask Peter if his uncle was hurting him but then Peter spoke and she didn’t have to anymore. 

“Are you gonna kill my Uncle Ben?” Peter asked Tony them took a sip of his juice. 

Both Tony and Pepper looked at each other because they were shocked to have heard what they just heard. 

“Why would I kill your Uncle?” Tony asked. 

Peter shrugged “Because you kill the bad men and my Uncle is a bad man” 

Pepper felt her heart stop for a second and she had to take a few calming breaths. 

“Why is he a bad man?” Tony asked again. He couldn’t believe he was actually having a conversation like this with a child. 

“Because,” Peter stopped and looked around the room then continued again “because he does stuff to me and I don’t wanna do that stuff but he makes me” 

Tony stood up in his chair and put his hands through his hair. 

Pepper had to look away because it was confirmed. What she had been hoping was a lie was confirmed the truth. 

Peter must have thought that Tony and Pepper were mad because he sat up in his chair quickly. 

“But you can’t tell anyone because then I’ll get in trouble and I don’t wanna get in trouble” Peter spoke in a quiet voice. 

“Peter, we have to tell someone so he stops doing what he’s doing to you” Pepper said gently to try and make Peter understand. 

“No” Peter crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair again. 

Tony didn’t know what to say about this. He hoped that it wasn’t true but now he knew that it was and there was nothing he could do to change that. 

But there was something he could do to stop it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sooo stressed rn with trying to finish high school and just everything else I just want to have my life figured out
> 
> Alsooooo where did Peters iron man toy goooo:///


	3. There comes a time...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry this is up later than I wanted it to be. I’ve had no time at all to write just because I wanna have like 3 hours at least to just sit down and write without having to do anything else but wth high ending it’s just been crazy busy. Anyways.... I’m gonna start posting a lot more in the summer.
> 
>  
> 
> I loveeeew writing this fic and I have so many ideas but it’s hard to get started like to actually start writing

After Peter had just admitted what Pepper and Tony were hoping to be false, Tony knew he had to do something about it. 

To know that a child so young and innocent is getting sexually assaulted every night for all Tony’s knows about it almost sends him into a panic attack but he doesn’t have time to go into a panic attack right now because he has to take Peter to school. 

Pepper had told Tony that Peters school was gonna start soon and that they were gonna be the ones to take him to school. 

Peter was sitting on the edge of the couch looking at his hands. He hasn’t said a word since he went to go sit over there after he had just said something that Tony guessed he probably regretted saying for the fear of getting in trouble. 

It was very obvious that Peters Uncle had threatened to hurt Peter if he said anything about what he was doing to the boy. 

Tony pushed those thoughts away right now because right now he had to take a certain kid to school. 

Somethings he’s never done before. 

Well, there’s a first time for everything. So now here Tony was holding a cup of coffee in one hand while he walked over to the small child on the couch. 

“Hey, Pete. You ready to go to school?” Tony asked. He made sure not to stand too close to the boy to prevent any odd reactions from him. 

Peter didn’t even look up at Tony as he nodded his head. 

“Alright, Let’s go down to the garage” 

Tony took one last big sip from his mug and then put it on the coffee table. He began walking to the elevator with Peter following behind him. 

“You guys ready to go?” Pepper asked as she seemed to come out of nowhere. 

“Yep. Just waiting on you” Tony said then went to lean over to kiss Pepper on the cheek but then thought better of it and pulled away. 

They all walked into the elevator and then the doors closed. Tony debated if he should say something to Peter but he didn’t really know what to say so he decided not to say anything. 

The tension in the air was almost thickening so when the elevator doors opened revealing the front lobby Tony was the first one out. 

He took a few breaths and realized that he was so close to a panic attack. 

Once he calmed himself down enough, Tony looked down at Peter who was walking slowly behind him. 

Tony decided to say something to Peter now because he felt bad for the kid after looking at how small he looks just walking there. 

“Are you excited for school, kid?” Tony asked. He stopped walking to let Peter catch up to him. 

“Yeah,” Peter said looking up at him “I love going to school and my favourite is science class because I like to mix chemicals together and watch them change colours” 

Tony smiled down at the chocolate brown haired kid. It was no surprise that Peter was a smart kid considering everything that he was asking Tony about the Iron Man and how he was genuinely curious about the answers. 

“You should come with me down to my lab one day,” Tony said before he could even think about what he was saying “I could show you how the Iron Man armour works” 

Peters face lit up so brightly and it made Tony get a funny feeling in his heart at the sight. 

“Are you serious?” Peter asked excitedly. He began bouncing slightly on the spot. 

“Yeah, I mean whenever you want” Tony watched as Peter excitedly bounced on the spot and he just wanted to pick the boy up and take him down to his lab right now to let the kid do anything he wanted with all the chemicals he wanted. 

“Do you promise?” Peter held out his pinky finger and at first Tony didn’t know what he was doing but then he realized that the kid wanted to make a pinky promise with him. 

Tony held out his much bigger finger and looked into Peters big brown eyes and made a promise with him. 

The promise meant much more than a lab trip to Tony. 

“I got his car seat and backpack so we better get going” Pepper called over from the front desk where she was holding a backpack and a car seat. 

Tony suddenly realized that Peter was in fact a young child that still sat in a car seat. 

He walked over with Peter following behind him and grabbed the car seat from Pepper. 

They walked out of the tower and down to the garage. Tony decided to drive there in one of his Audi’s. It was a black one and one of his favourites. 

“I’ll just put this in the back” Tony said. He opened up the back door and put the car seat in. It was very complicated but he eventually got the car seat down so it was secure in the seat. 

He stepped aside for Peter to get into his seat and when Peter sat down he looked up at Tony. 

“You need to buckle me in” Peter said looking really confused. 

Tony nodded looking really confused himself. He went to grab the seat belt to put around Peter but Peter stopped him. 

“No, you have to put the buckles on” Peter pointed down to the buckles on the side of the car seat. 

“Okay...” Tony grabbed the buckles and attempted to put in on Peter so he was safely in his seat but it was harder than Tony thought. 

“Do you know how to do this by any chance?” Tony laughed as he asked Peter. 

Peter shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. 

“What’s taking so long?” Pepper asked amused from the passenger seat. 

“Nothing honey” Tony rolled his eyes which made Peter giggle. 

After a few more minutes and some mental swears Tony finally got the car seat to buckle up.

He gave Peter a smile who looked like he enjoyed watching Tony struggle because he was giggling and holding his hands up to his mouth to try and spot himself. 

“That was real funny, wasn’t in?” Tony asked sarcastically but with no heat behind his words. 

Peter nodded his head then Tony laughed and shut the door. 

He walked to the drivers seat got in and started the car. 

The drive to Peters school was about twenty minutes so it wasn’t too long. 

The whole ride there Peter didn’t say anything unless he was spoken to which Tony didn’t like and from Peppers face, she didn’t like it either. 

They eventually arrived at Peters school being only ten minutes late. 

“We’re here” Tony said as he parked the car in the front of the school. He suddenly remembered that he had to help Peter out so he got out of the car and opened the back door for Peter. 

Getting Peter out of the car seat was no problem at all so he did it quick. 

Pepper got out of the car and handed Peter his back pack. Tony, for the first time got a good look at it and saw that it was an Iron Man back pack. 

Peter grabbed the bag from Pepper and put it on his back with a quiet thank you. 

“I like your bag, buddy” Tony said with a smug smile. Pepper rolled her eyes and Peters face flushed red. 

“Thank you” Peter said quietly now looking at the ground. He looked up at Tony and Tony wanted to just pick the kid up. 

He didn’t understand why he felt so attached to the boy. He’s been around plenty of kids asking for autographs and pictures so why was this any different? 

“Have a good day at school, sweetie” Pepper said pulling Tony out of his thoughts. 

Tony watched at Pepper grabbed Peters head gently with both hands on either side of his curly head. 

“Thank you for taking me to school and giving me pancakes” Peter said to Pepper. 

“It was no problem, Peter” Pepper said with a smile and Tony could tell she wanted to say more but didn’t. 

“Are you gonna pick me up after school so I can go home with you?” Peter walked over to Tony and asked with wide eyes. 

Tony didn’t know what to say. If it were up to him Peter would be coming home with him but it wasn’t up to him. Peter was just some random kid on the street to him. He had no power over him and so there was no way that he could just take him home. 

“I can’t take you home with me, Peter. You have to go back to your Aunt and Uncle after school” Tony said sadly. He didn’t miss the way that Peters body flinched when he mentioned his Uncle. 

“Okay...” Peter said then looked up at Tony from where he was looking at the ground “Thank you Iron Man for taking me to school and putting me in my car seat” 

Tony laughed then remembered that he had to give Peter his car seat back. 

“Speaking of car seats. Let me just get yours” Tony managed to get Peters car seat out of the car. It wasn’t as hard as it was putting it in, or getting Peter in. 

“I’ll just go bring him in” Tony said to Pepper. He handed her the car keys for her to wait in the car for him. 

“Where’s your main office, bud?” Tony asked. They walked up the front steps together and was now in the school. 

It looked like a very big school for an elementary school and there were paintings of very famous scientists on the wall and very important people in history. 

Tony looked at them all, he saw a picture of Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers and on the end he saw a picture of his dad, Howard Stark. Tony felt a pang a hatred at seeing his father on the wall. 

He continued walking with Peter and then he came across a picture of himself. Tony Stark. 

“It’s you” Peter said looking to where Tony was looking at himself “I like to look at it when I pass by it because I wanna be like you some day” 

Tony looked down at Peter and smiled “You'll be better than me some day” 

Peter made an exciting sound and then they kept walking. Tony meant what he said. 

Peter wasn’t even ten years old and Tony knew he was already super smart. Probably way smarter than he was at ten. With good guidance Peter could do anything. 

They made it to the front office and when Tony walked in the receptionist did a double look. 

“Tony Stark sir, Mr. Stark” She stuttered out “What are you doing here?” 

Tony then realized that she couldn’t see Peter from behind the desk because he was too short. 

“I’m just dropping off Peter Parker” Tony said. He watched as the women looked around for a child then Tony held up the car seat he was holding “Where do I put this?”

“Oh, yes. I’ll take that for you” She got up out of her chair and rounded the desk. When she saw Peter she smiled at him. 

“Peter, it’s so good to have you back” She said grabbing the car seat from Tony now not paying any attention to him “I hope you’re feeling better” 

Peter nodded his head and watched as the women took his car seat and put it behind the desk then sat down again. 

“I never knew Peter here knew The Tony Stark” the women said like she was genuinely surprised. 

“Oh no, I don’t actually know him, I’m just doing a favour for his Aunt because she couldn’t make it” Tony said not really wanting to explain the real reason, although it wasn’t far from the truth. 

“Oh, okay. Well, I’ll make sure that his Uncle gets this when he picks Peter up today” The women said and Tony wanted to tell her to just forget it and that he was gonna be picking Peter up but he knew he couldn’t do that. 

He turned around to Peter who looked like he wanted to start crying. Tony didn’t really know what he was supposed to do so he just ran his hand through Peters hair. 

Peter flinched at the sudden touch and Tony was about to move his hand away but then Peter relaxed and leaned into the touch. 

“I’m gonna go now, Peter” Tony said sadly and he didn’t miss the way Peter looked up at him with tears in his eyes. 

Peter, despite his watery eyes, nodded his head bravely. 

Tony slowly walked away from Peter and out of the office. He felt horrible and he felt like apart of him was breaking doing so but he was at lost with what to do.

Outside, Tony got into the drivers seat of his car and drove away. 

Pepper looked up from her phone and at Tony with a worried expression. 

“What’s wrong? What happened in there?” Pepper asked. She put her phone down fully to give Tony her full attention. Tony didn’t say anything at first. 

“Tony!” 

Tony looked at Pepper for a few seconds then back at the road again.

“You should have seen his face, Pep.” Tony looked over at Pepper and tightened his hands on the steering wheel until they were white “When the receptionist told him that his Uncle was gonna pick him up, I just...” 

Tony trailed off and kept his focus on the road. Pepper didn’t say anything for a few seconds and Tony thought that she wasn’t gonna say anything at all but then she spoke. 

“I don’t know what to do but I know that we have to do something, we can’t just let this go on when we know what is happening to this child” Pepper said with conviction and Tony nodded along silently agreeing. 

He thought back to Peters face in the office and it made him sick to his stomach to think about what could possibly happen after school to Peter once he is alone with his Uncle.

The ride back to the tower was done in silence. Tony knew that he was thinking the same thing as Pepper but no one said anything. They didn’t need to because they both knew that they were on the same page. 

Once they arrived back at the tower, they both walked into the elevator without saying a word to each other. 

Tony was glad that they were silent because he was in his own thoughts on what to do and so was Pepper. 

He went to his lab and Pepper went back to her office to work. 

.  
.  
.

Later that night Pepper walked into Tony’s lab with a determined look on her face. 

Tony looked up from where she was standing by the door way holding her phone in her hand. 

“May called...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okkk soo...... I have an important question....
> 
> Do you want me to just imply that Peters Uncle did stuff to him or do you want me to write a scene/ scenes of it actually happening????
> 
> Please let me know what you guys want because idk if I should write it or not sooo please comment


	4. I’ll miss you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: at the end of the chapter there is Ben treating peter very bad (no sexual abuse and not that bad of physical abuse but I just put a warning there just in case) 
> 
> And check the notes at the end:)))

Tony let go of the screwdriver that was in his hand and grabbed the cloth that was hanging over on the side of the table so he could wipe the oil off his hands. 

He slowly got up and walked over to Pepper because if May was calling, Peters Aunt, then maybe something happened to Peter. 

A million scenarios were running through Tony’s head on the short walk from his desk to Pepper. 

Eventually, after a painfully long five seconds Pepper spoke. 

“May called and she said that him and his Uncle are coming by the tower right now because Peter forgot something,” Pepper looked away from Tony and took a breath ‘and I quote “and he won’t shut up about it so they’re coming by’ that’s what May said” 

Pepper looked back at Tony and they met eyes. Tony realized that Pepper had huge under eye circles and she looked a bit pale. He could imagine that he didn’t look all that better but he wasn’t used to seeing that tired look on Pepper. He saw that on him everyday when he looked in the mirror so it was nothing new. 

“So Peter and Ben are coming to the tower right now?” Tony tried to clarify. He didn’t know how he felt that Peters abusive Uncle was coming to his tower again. 

Under any other circumstances Tony would have called the Iron Man armour to him if he saw Ben Parker at his tower again but he wanted to see Peter and if this was the only way then so he it. 

“They should be here any minute so we should go wait for them” Pepper moved to walk towards the door to leave and Tony followed her. 

“Wait, do we even know what Peter forgot because I didn’t see him come in with anything other than his car seat and backpack and we gave those back” Tony said. He pressed the elevator button for the main lobby. He tried to think back to when he first saw Peter and his memory was pretty good like that because whenever someone walked into a room he always liked to see what they are holding in their hands, force of habit. 

Peter in fact did not walk in with anything in his hands. 

“Boss, Peter Parker and Ben Parker are in the main lobby of the tower and are asking for your presence” FRIDAY spoke. 

Tony waved his hand “Thanks FRI” 

When the elevator doors opened Tony wanted to run over to Peter and take him away but he knew that would not go down well. 

He saw Ben first standing in the middle of the lobby with his arms crossed over his chest. He had dark brown hair and big bug eyes. His shoulders were very broad and he was genuinely a very big man. 

Tony didn’t feel intimidated by him, he never really felt intimidated by anyone actually and if he does he doesn’t admit it or show it. 

At first Tony didn’t see Peter anywhere and Tony was starting to think that this was just a set up for Ben to get into the tower but then he saw a certain kid pop up from behind his Uncle. 

Tony let out a breath after seeing Peter but then his breath hitched again because he saw how bad Peter looked. 

He had obviously been crying because his eyes were all rimmed red and his cheeks were flushed red too. 

He was wearing the same clothes he had on in the morning but now they were full of dirt. His once green pants were now a dirty brown looking like he rolled around in the dirt. His blue top had what looked like food stains all down the front. 

There was no problem with that. Peter was obviously a young kid that liked to play around and get dirty. The problem was is the fact that it was nine o’clock at night and Peter should have already been in a bath and changed clothes after coming home from school looking like a mess. 

Also, Tony didn’t know a lot about kids but he did know that kids had a bedtime and it looked like Peter should either be getting ready for bed or already in bed by now. 

Ben looked up from where he was looking at some picture on the wall and saw Tony so he uncrossed his arms and walked over to him. 

Tony’s eyes didn’t leave Peter. Once Ben started walking Peter followed but he was looking at the ground.

“Nice to see you again Mr. Stark” Ben said and Tony finally looked up at him. 

“I wish I could say the same to you” Tony said while shaking Bens hand. 

Tony looked down at Peter and watched as Peter looked up from the ground and was met with sad eyes. 

Peter smiled once he saw Tony but then he stopped smiling and looked up at his Uncle. 

“What can I help you with?” Tony asked not really enjoying playing nice with this guy but doing so for Peters case. 

“Peter was being irresponsible and forgot something here, he won’t stop crying and usually I don’t care but... yeah” Ben trailed off probably about to say something else but then stopping himself. 

“I’m not so sure a nine year old kid can be responsible” Tony said now looking Ben in the eyes. 

Ben shrugged his shoulders then put his hand on Peters shoulders and pushed him so that Peter was standing in front of him. Tony watched as Peter flinched but he didn’t do anything else. 

“Tell them what you won’t stop crying about” Ben said shaking Peter a bit. 

“M’sorry, I-I f-forgot m-my Iron Man t-teddy” Peter said sadly and like he wanted to cry. Tony noticed that his bottom lip was shaking and he guessed that Peter was holding in his cry either because he didn’t want to cry in front of Tony or because he was scared to get in trouble by his Uncle. Tony guessed it was the second one. 

“It’s okay, Peter” Pepper said softly. She moved forward to stand in front of Peter and bent down so that she was the same height as him “Do you remember where you left it” 

Peter shook his head “I think-I think I left it in y-your o-office” 

“Okay,” Pepper stood back up “let’s go see if it’s in there” 

Peter nodded his head and reached to grab Peppers hand but then his Uncle pulled him back against his chest again. 

“We’re all going up” Ben said. 

Tony stepped towards him “oh I’m sorry I didn’t realize when they changed the sign out front from Stark to Parker. You don’t get to make decisions here” 

Ben was about three inches taller than Tony and he was trying to use that to his advantage to scare Tony but it wasn’t working. 

“We’ll go get his toy and then come right back” Tony said then waited for Ben to let go of Peter. 

Once he did that they all walked into the elevator. Tony let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when the elevator doors closed. 

Once the doors closed Peter started crying. 

“Peter, honey what’s wrong?” Pepper asked bending down so she was at his level again. 

Peter didn’t answer but he kept crying and then started hiccuping. 

Tony also bent down so that he was also at eye level with Peter. 

Peter knew why he was all the sudden crying. It was because he felt like he couldn’t cry in front of his Uncle and so when the elevator doors closed blocking him off from his Uncle and keeping him safe he let it all out. 

“M’sorry. M’sorry” Peter leaned in closer to Tony and Tony made a decision that he wanted to do when he first met Peter. 

He reached under his arms and picked the kid up. Tony stood up with Peter and held him close. 

Pepper slowly stood from her bent down position and gave Tony a surprised look obviously not have expected Tony to just pick the kid up. 

Tony was a bit awkward holding Peter at first because he’s never held a kid before. He’s only ever held babies that parents throw in his arms for a quick picture. 

Peter was a lot bigger than that. Well, not all that bigger considering how small he was. 

Tony held him under his butt for support and then put his other arms on his back to hold him up. 

Peter was confused at first probably thinking why this man just picked him up but then Peter slowly relaxed and put his head on Tony’s shoulder. 

When Peter did that Tony looked over at Pepper and smiled because that was the cutest thing ever. 

The elevator doors opened on Peppers floor where her office was so they all stepped out. 

Tony felt Peter shift so he was more comfortable and then let out a little breath. 

Pepper looked around the office and then found Peters toy so she held it up for Tony to see and then smiled. 

“I found your Iron Man, Peter” 

Peter moved his head from Tony’s shoulder and looked at Pepper then smiled and reached for it. 

He hugged the toy close to him and then put his head back on Tony’s shoulder. 

It was a nice feeling, Tony thought. Just a simple little act of Peter resting his head on Tony’s shoulder made his heart feel so big and happy. He couldn’t explain it but he knew he liked it. 

Tony didn’t want to leave just yet. He didn’t want to get back into the elevator and give Peter back to his Uncle but he knew he had to. 

He knew Pepper was thinking the same thing because she had that sad look in her eyes. 

“You ready?” She asked. Tony nodded his head but he was lying. 

When they got back into the elevator Tony pressed the button for the main lobby and Peter lifted his head up from where it was on Tony’s shoulder. 

“Are we going to your lab now?” Peter asked in a soft voice. At least he didn’t sound like he wanted to cry anymore. 

That broke Tony’s heart. He promised Peter but the time wasn’t right. Not yet.

“I’m sorry buddy but not today” Tony said and he didn’t miss the way Peters face fell. 

“But when?” Peter asked again. Tony noticed that there was mud in Peters hair so went to go try and pick it out before realizing what he was doing. 

Peter didn’t react to it but Tony saw Pepper smiling on the corner on his eyes. 

“I don’t know, Peter” Tony wanted to know when he could see Peter again but it wasn’t like he could just call up his Aunt and his Uncle and set up a play date. 

“Maybe I can sleep over at your house and then we can play in the lab” Peter said not looking Tony in the eyes. He was playing with a button on Tony’s shirt. 

They were one floor away from the main lobby so Tony decided to put Peter down so his Uncle didn’t see. 

Peter wined at being put down and Tony couldn’t help but laugh at it. 

When the elevator doors opened Tony immediately saw Ben sitting on one of the chairs. He didn’t look up to see Tony, Pepper and Peter walk in and at first Tony thought he was asleep but then as he got closer Ben looked up from his phone. 

He looked extremely angry but then again he looked the same when he walked in here. 

Ben stood up and put his phone in his pocket “Did you guys have dinner while you were up there, took you long enough. Did you get your stupid little toy?” 

Peter nodded his head and held his toy closer to his chest. 

Ben looked up at Tony “Funny how he has a toy of you but not of the person that actually cares for him” 

Tony raised his eyebrows in confusion “That’s because they don’t make toys for people who steal” Tony wanted to say that they don’t make toys for child perverts but he didn’t want to cause any unnecessary problems right now. 

Ben actually laughed at that like he was proud to have done what he did. He motioned for Peter to walk closer to him and when Peter reluctantly did so, Ben grabbed his arm and practically dragged him forward. 

“Say thank you” Ben said shaking Peters arm a bit. 

“Hey man, relax. There’s no need to do that” Tony said stepping forward a bit to try and stop Ben if he did anything else. 

Ben just looked at Tony and then turned and started walking away. 

Peter waved bye before he was dragged out by his Uncle. 

Tony and Pepper watched them leave with their hearts breaking a little bit more each step that Peter was getting further and further away from them. 

Once Peter and Ben were outside the tower Ben let go of Peters arm and reached down to pick him up but it wasn’t as nice as Tony picked Peter up. 

Ben was holding Peter with one arm over his stomach while Peters back was pressed against Bens side. 

Bens arm was digging into Peters stomach painfully and it was kinda hard for Peter to breath and even tell Ben to stop. 

When they got to the car Ben let go of Peter and Peter stumbled to the ground. He grabbed his Iron Man tight in his arms and tried to catch his breath. 

Ben grabbed Peter by the arm again and lifted him up so that he was sitting in his car seat. Peter wanted to cry because he missed the way Tony put him in his car seat and how funny it was to watch the man struggle with trying to put the car seat buckles on. 

Peter almost dropped his Iron Man so he held it tighter to his chest. 

“Move your fucking arms” Ben said then he grabbed Peters Iron Man from him and threw it on the ground in the car. 

“No!” Peter screamed trying to reach for his toy but the car seat buckles were already on preventing him from moving. 

Ben shut the backseat door once Peter was buckled in and Peter felt that there was too much pressure on the buckles. It was too tight and it was squeezing him in and it hurt. 

Ben got into the car and started it. 

“It’s too tight, Uncle Ben” Peter said. He felt that he was close to tears “Uncle Ben!”

Ben didn’t listen to him. He pulled out of the tower parking lot and kept driving. 

Peter tried so hard not to cry because he knew that Ben and May hated it when he cried but he couldn’t help it. 

He didn’t want to leave the tower and the car seat buckles were digging into him. Also, on top of everything his Iron Man teddy was on the ground so Peter could see it but he couldn’t grab it. 

“Stop sulking,” Ben said and Peter tried to stop but he accidentally let out a sob. He looked up at his Uncle in the mirror and made eye contact which made Peter quickly look away. 

“What did you say to them?” Ben asked. He sped up a bit on the road and Peter wanted to just jump out and run back to the tower where he felt safe “Answer me!”

Peter flinched at his Uncles loud voice “N-nothing. I didn’t tell them a-anything, Uncle Ben” 

Ben laughed out annoyed “You’re a horrible liar, Peter. Now tell me the truth!” 

Peter let out another sob and tried to hug himself as a sad way to self comfort “I didn’t, I’m not lying” 

Ben just looked at Peter in the mirror long enough for two cars to beep at him when he went into the opposite lane. 

“I don’t want you ever seeing Tony Stark again, do you understand me?” Ben said and Peter felt his heart stop. 

Tony was so nice to him and made him feel so safe how could his Uncle not let him see him. 

“Do you understand me?” Ben asked again and Peter nodded his head. He felt the tears burn his eyes but he didn’t let them fall.

The rest of the car ride was spent in silence and Peter didn’t know if he’d rather his Uncle talk to him or say nothing at all. 

All Peter knew was that he wanted to go back to the tower with Tony and Pepper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so.... thank you guys sooo much for commenting. Yea I don’t think I’ll be writing a scene of peter and Ben like that because I don’t even think I could actually do that butttttt it will be implied and I’ll always put warnings up in the beginning so dwww
> 
> Also I don’t know why those notes are down there ( below this one) they were from an old chapter so I have no idea why they’re here please just ignore until I know how to get rid of it


	5. Whenever I need you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m finally done high school!!! I’m sooo glad because now I can write more tooo which I’m sooo excited about because I have sooo many ideas for this:))) I hope you guys like it

Out of all things to do today Tony did not expect he would be in his car right now driving to Peters school. 

It’s been about a week since he’s last seen or heard from Peter. 

Tony knew the kid was at least going to school because he hacked into the schools office system and found Peters attendance. He could have dug deeper but he honestly didn’t want to be too nosy and find out more. All he needed to know was that Peter was going to school which he was. 

This was where Tony found himself now driving to Peters elementary school. 

Two hours ago May had supposedly called Pepper and asked for Tony and Pepper to pick Peter up from school. It was a Friday night and May at least had somewhat of a soft heart to want to protect Peter from his Uncle because supposedly on Friday nights Ben would go out with his friends to drink and then would come home drunk and be horrible to Peter. 

Usually May would be home to try and at least stop it but not today. Today, May had to work a night shift at the hospital meaning that she won’t be home until early the next morning.

Pepper had immediately agreed to picking Peter up from school and to looking after him until May could. 

Tony found it kinda weird how May was calling them to watch Peter. It wasn’t like they didn’t have any other family or friends to actually watch Peter when they couldn’t. So he found it kind of odd how May was putting so much trust in them to watch their nephew. 

Not like Tony or Pepper would ever do anything bad to Peter but it wasn’t like May knew that. She was just putting her full trust into them. 

The past week since Tony has seen Peter has been surprisingly hard. Well, not really surprising considering how much of an impact Peter made on Tony but just because he never expected to feel so attached to a boy that he’s just met, a kid so young as Peter. 

Tony wanted to visit Peter or have Peter visit him the past week he was away from him but there was just no way of that happening. Tony was still no one to Peter and as much as he hated that there was just no changing it. 

That’s why when Pepper called him two hours ago and told him that he was going to be picking Peter up from school and take him back to the tower, Tony was so happy. 

Now on the ride to the school he was mentally talking to himself to try and figure out everything that he was gonna do with Peter. 

All he had to do was pick Peter up from school and then drive to Peters apartment and get an overnight bag for Peter then they could go to the tower. 

Tony just needed to tell a certain Greg at the apartment building that May Parker told him to go up. He hoped there would be no problem and considering who he is he guessed there would be no problem. 

When Tony pulled up to the school he suddenly felt really nervous for some reason. He realized that it was the first time he was gonna be alone with Peter after having met him. Even though he just met the boy a week ago, he didn’t know why he was nervous. 

He didn’t even know if Peter knew he was getting picked up by him. 

Tony looked at the time and saw that Peters school ended in ten minutes so he parked his car and made his way into the office. 

“Oh! Mr. Stark” The receptionist said after seeing Tony walk in “May called and she gave you permission to take Peter out of school so you just have to sign here” 

Tony grabbed the pen that was on the desk and signed where it said. He felt like he was really responsible for doing that. Well, he was responsible, kinda, but he’s never had to sign a kid out of school before and it felt like a different kind of responsibility. 

“Peters car seat is over there and he should be here any minute. I called his class and told his teacher to send him to the office after school” The receptionist said pointing to where Peters car seat was. 

“Thanks” 

Tony pulled out his phone to wait for Peter but he didn’t have to wait long because soon after the bell rang he saw a scared looking Peter walking down the hallway. 

Tony smiled and felt his heart swell after not seeing Peter for so long. He walked out of the office and waited for Peter to see him. 

Peter looked up from the ground and when his eyes landed on Tony he smiled so big. He ran over to Tony with the curls bouncing on his head. He crashed into Tony’s legs and hugged the man. 

Tony put his arms around Peter and just said screw it and then picked him up. Tony placed the now giggled boy on his hip. 

“Long time no see stranger” Tony said smiling at Peter who was now eye to eye. 

Peter smiled so big that Tony saw his still baby teeth in his mouth. It looked like one front tooth was gone but the other front tooth was still a baby one. Tony thought that it made Peter look even cuter. 

“I didn’t know you were coming” Peter said excitedly and started bouncing on Tony’s hip out of excitement. 

Tony had to hoist him up higher and get a better grip on him so that he didn’t fall. 

It was kinda hard to hold Peter with his backpack on but Tony managed to just hold Peter with one arm under his butt for support. 

“I decided to come and surprise you” Tony smiled. He started walking back into the office with Peter still on his hip. 

Peters face fell and Tony thought that he said something wrong. 

“Oh, so you’re not gonna take me home with you?” Peter asked sadly. He looked at Tony with wide brown eyes. 

“What? I am gonna take you home with me and we’re gonna go work in my lap together just like I promised” Tony put Peter down once they were in the office and Peters face broke out in a smile again. 

“Yay! Just like we pinky promised!” Peter started bouncing excitedly again. 

“I never break a pinky promise” Tony winked at Peter which caused Peter to laugh then he grabbed Peters car seat and waved bye to the lady. 

“We just gotta go to your house first to get a bag for you” Tony opened the back door of the car to put Peters car seat in. 

“Why do we have to go there why can’t we just go to your house?” Peter whined and Tony smiled because he was actually whining like the little kid he was. 

“Because we need to get your pyjamas” 

At that Peter smiled again “Like for a sleepover?”

Tony nodded his head as he got the car seat into the car. 

“Alright, your turn” 

Peter giggled and got into the car with Tony’s help. He put his backpack on the seat beside him and then Tony managed to get the car seat buckles on a lot easier this time. 

“Got it in one try” Tony said proudly of himself. 

Peter gave him a toothy smile which made Tony smile. 

Peters school wasn’t far from his apartment, only about a ten minute drive so they got there in five minutes with Tony’s driving. 

“This is it?” Tony asked just to make sure before they got out. 

“Yeah” Peter said from the back seat and Tony looked in the mirror to make sure that Peter wasn’t crying because it sounded like he was. 

Once he made sure Peter wasn’t crying he got out of the car and opened the back door then helped Peter out. 

“Do you promise we’re just gonna go to get my stuff?” Peter looked up at Tony while they were walking to the front lobby. 

“Yeah buddy, I promise”

Peter nodded his head but then reached for Tony’s hand. Tony felt something soft touch his hand and when he looked down he saw Peter holding his hand so he smiled and squeezed his hand. 

“Can I help you?” The man at the front desk asked and Tony realized that he probably couldn’t use his name for power right now because the man either didn’t care who Tony was or didn’t know. 

“Yeah, May Parker said I could go up to apartment 346B to get something” Tony said subconsciously pulling Peter closer to him. 

The man checked something on the computer then handed Tony a key without saying anything. 

Tony waited for the man to put the key on the desk before picking it up and walking with Peter into the elevator. 

“The elevator doesn’t work here so we have to take the stairs” Peter said like it didn’t bug him at all. 

Tony on the other hand did not like that. He already had bad knees to begin with and now he had to walk up three levels. This would not be fun. 

Peter led Tony to where the stairs were and when he opened it Tony got a whiff of pure mold and dampness. 

“It stinks in here” Tony pointed out and Peter laughed. 

“It always smells in here” 

Tony laughed and then they started making their way up the stairs.

It was exhausting but they finally made it. Peter grabbed Tony’s hand again and then led him to their apartment door which was on the other side of the elevators which meant more walking. 

Tony was looking at all the doors of each apartment and he noticed that everyone of them had new doorknobs as if the door was been kicked in for a certain reason like a break in. 

When they got to Peters door he realized that Peters door didn’t have one. All the doors on this side of the hall didn’t have one. Like the robbers just haven’t gotten to them yet and that terrified Tony. 

Tony let go of Peters hand to put the key in the door but Peter stopped him “Wait, what if someone’s home?” 

Tony was about to say that there was no need to worry because no one was home but then he thought about it and there could in fact be someone home. 

“It’ll be okay” 

Tony turned the key and opened the door. 

He took a breath preparing to get attacked by someone, anyone, he didn’t know who, but nothing came. 

Tony stepped into the apartment with Peter following behind him. He shut the door and locked it out of habit then looked around. 

The apartment was small but homey. There were pictures everywhere of mainly Peter and some of a younger looking May and Ben. 

Tony picked up a picture frame of what he guessed was a two year old Peter.

The photo was a black and white picture of Peter wearing overalls. His hair was short but Tony could still see the curls that were soon to come in. He was looking off into the distance and had his finger in his mouth making his lip bend. 

Tony smiled and then put the picture down. He quickly looked at the rest of the apartment and it was hard to think that anything went on in here when the door was closed from everything that he knew happened to Peter. 

“Do you want to see my room?” Peter asked still standing next to Tony. 

“Sure, bud” 

Peter led Tony down a small hall next to the kitchen and opened a door that revealed Peters bedroom. 

His bedroom was small but cozy. His bed was up against the wall and had what looked like a baby guard on the end of the bed. He had a train set on the floor that Tony almost stepped on when he walked in. Peter jumped on his bed and then grabbed a book from under his pillow then handed it to Tony. 

“What’s this?” Tony asked suspiciously taking the brown leather book from Peters hands. 

“It’s all my science experiments” Peter said like it was nothing. He jumped off his bed and then walked over to his desk chair and grabbed the black bag that was sitting on top of it. 

Tony opened the book and saw a bunch child writing but it was formulas for mixing chemicals and biochemistry notes. 

Tony flipped through a few pages amazed then looked up at Peter shocked “Who helped you with this?” 

Peter shrugged “No one did”

“So you did this all by yourself?” Tony asked disbelief. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. 

Here was this nine year old kid who knew how to write down chemical equations that he himself only learned a few years ago. 

“Yeah! I like to mix chemicals together in science class” Peter said excitedly. 

Tony closed the book and handed it back to Peter. 

Peter held it up then looked at Tony with wide eyes “Can I take it to your house?”

“Yeah, of course you can” 

Peter made an exciting sound and then put the book in his black bag. 

Tony looked around the rest of the room and saw that Peters closet doors were gone so he could see all his clothes and then next to his desk that had a bunch of books and papers on them was a dresser. The drawers in the dresser could barely close and Tony could see all of Peters clothes hanging out. 

“Can you help me pack my stuff?” Peter asked and Tony smiled.

Tony moved to the dresser and tried to carefully open the draws so he wouldn’t accidentally break it. Peter sat next to him with his bag and then started putting random stuff in the bag. 

“I think you’ve got enough tops now, bud” Tony laughed and Peter blushed a bit. 

Peter opened up the other drawer which were his pants and then he started putting a bunch of them in his bag as well. 

The last drawer that Peter opened had a bunch of his underwear and socks in there.

Peter grabbed a bunch of his underwear and threw them in and Tony noticed how small they were. 

“I think you’re good for that too, bud” Tony laughed because Peter was practically throwing all his underwear in the bag. 

Peter looked up at Tony wish a confused look “I do” he said in a small voice. 

Tony didn’t question anything. He let Peter put his socks in the bag and then stood up. 

“I need to get my pyjamas now” Peter ran out of his bedroom and Tony was about to follow him but then he came back with a pile of folded clothes. 

“Should I bring my green ones or my blue ones or my red ones” Peter said laying them all out of the bed for Tony to see. 

Tony looked at them all and they were so tiny it was hard to ever imagine himself being so small. 

Tony looked to his left and noticed a box by Peters bed. He noticed that the box had pull-ups inside and he wondered why there was a box of pull-ups in Peters bedroom. 

He decided not to question the kid about it and turned back to Peters pyjamas.

They were the kids kind of pyjamas that had a matching top and bottoms set and had the waist band and the band by the ankle of the pants. 

“How bout you bring them all” Tony said and Peter smiled then picked them all up and tossed them in the bag. 

“Do you need anything else?” Tony asked looking around the room. 

“You have to do the check list” Peter whined and Tony had to hold back at laugh at it. 

“The check list?” At Tony’s confused look Peter clarified. 

“You have to say if I have something and I say check” 

Tony nodded his head. He thought this little game was cute and he wondered where Peter learned it from. 

“Okay... do you have your shirts?” Tony asked. 

“Check!” 

“Uh, do you have your pants?”

“Check!” 

“Do you have...” Tony trailed off to think of what else Peter packed “underwear and socks?”

“Check! Check!” 

“Pyjamas?” 

“Check!” 

Tony thought about what else Peter would need but then he remembered the cleaning stuff. Well, Peter could obviously use his shampoos. 

“Do you have a toothbrush?” 

Peters eyes widen which caused Tony to laugh. Peter quickly ran off somewhere then came back with a toothbrush. He put it in the bag. 

“Do you have everything now?” Tony checked the time and saw that something that should have taken less than twenty minutes was going on an hour now. 

“Wait! I almost forgot my blanket” Peter went to his bed and looked around for something. 

“I have lots of blankets at my house, kid” Tony watched as Peter looked for something on his bed but Tony didn’t understand why Peter now wanted to bring his whole bedroom practically. 

“No it’s my blanket” Peter eventually found what he was looking for and held it up to his face and hugged it to his chest. 

The blanket was a Winnie-the-Pooh blanket that looked like Peter had for his whole life. 

“Now I’m ready to go” Peter held his blanket close to him and jumped off the bed. Tony picked up Peters bag and right when they were about to leave the apartment Tony remembered something. 

“What about your Iron Man teddy?” 

“It’s already in my backpack” 

Tony nodded and smiled a bit because that means that Peter brought the Iron Man to school with him. He locked the door behind him and swung the bag over his shoulders. 

It was a tiring walk down the stairs of the apartment but Tony managed to get Peter in his car seat with no problem at all. 

Tony was excited to be sending some time with Peter in his lab and maybe find out just how smart the kid actually is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the picture that Tony picked up at Peters home....
> 
> https://data.whicdn.com/images/311676429/large.jpg
> 
> Also... I have no idea how to get rid of these end notes under here. I posted that one the first chapter but it’s not on the first chapter and is showing here sooo idk. You guys told me to click the end notes box to delete them but the only thing showing there is what I’m writing now soooo I’m sorry but we’re just gonna have to ignore it until I can figure it out.


	6. I’m gonna give all my secrets away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t edit this chapter because I really didn’t want to so I hope there’s not too many mistakes in here. I hope you guys like it:))

The ride to the tower was spent with Peter chatting away at anything and everything that crossed his mind. 

He was going a mile a minute and Tony had a hard time getting a word in so he just decided to listen. 

Peter would have a conversation about one thing but then half way through that he would start talking about something else and Tony found it hard to keep up but he managed it. 

“We’re here!” Peter said excitedly and Tony looked in the mirror to see that Peter had his knees raised to his chest and Tony laughed at the childish ways before parking the car and getting out. 

Tony opened the back door and helped Peter get out before grabbing Peters bag and Peter grabbing his backpack. 

“Let’s go up, bud” Tony guided Peter over to the elevator and then it started going up. 

Peter reached for Tony’s hand and Tony happily took it.

“Is Pepper gonna be here?” Peter looked up at Tony with wide eyes. 

“Yeah, she’ll probably come by later” 

The elevator doors opened and Tony stepped out with Peter following him still holding his hand. 

Tony put the bag down on the couch and then grabbed Peters backpack off of him and put it there too. 

“Are you hungry, bud?” Tony asked and Peter shrugged his shoulders. So yes.

“How about we get some food in you before we go down to the lab” Tony walked to the kitchen and thought about what he should make Peter. 

He had no idea what Peter would like to eat or even if he was allergic to anything. 

“Hey kid, you allergic to anything?”

Peter thought for a second and then shook his head. 

“Do you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?” 

“With the crust cut off” Peter nodded eagerly so then Tony got to work. 

“That’s the best way to have them” Tony said as he started to make them. He decided to make one for himself because he wouldn’t mind eating one right now. 

He made a mental reminder to buy some more kid foods for Peter to eat while he’s here. 

Once they finished their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches Tony put the plates in the sink and the filled of Peters juice for him so he would drink more. 

“Are you ready to see my lab?” Tony smiled at Peter and Peter jumped off his chair excitedly. 

“Yes! Yes! Yes!” Peter couldn’t believe that this was actually happening. He was finally gonna go see Tony Stark’s lab. 

Tony walked to the elevator with Peter following close beside him. He could feel Peters excitement from just standing beside the kid.

Tony typed in his password for his lab and then the doors opened. Peter stood by him for a few seconds seeming to debate if he should go inside or not and so Tony gently pushed him forward and he went in. 

Peter looked around at everything with wide eyes like a little kid at a fair but most little kids wouldn’t be impressed by being in a lab like this because they just wouldn’t be interested it this stuff like Peter is. 

Peter ran around the lab looking at everything and Tony went to go sit down at his work desk. He was keeping a careful eye on Peter just in case he decided to touch something he shouldn’t. 

“Woah! Is that Iron Man?” Peter asked as he stopped in the middle of the lab looking at something with bright eyes. Tony didn’t even need to see where Peter was pointing because he already knew what the kid was pointing at. 

Tony nodded his head and stood up “Sure is. Wanna come see it?” 

Peter nodded his head and ran over to where Tony was. 

The Iron Man armour was hanging up by medal chains because Tony was working on it earlier in the week but then something- someone came up. 

“If I touch it will it fight me?” Peter asked innocently and Tony laughed at the innocent question. 

“It won’t attack you, don’t worry” 

Peter reached forward to touch the Iron Man armour and when he touched it he did it with so much admiration and care. 

“This is the best day ever!” Peter squealed excitedly. He looked up at Tony with a big smile that showed his baby teeth and missing teeth. 

“How bout we work on some stuff?” Tony asked. He wanted to watch Peter work on some things that Tony gave him to see how smart the kid really was. Of course he would never give the kid anything extremely hard to work on and even if Peter couldn’t actually do what Tony gave him, Tony wouldn’t care. He still knew Peter was smart and it wouldn’t change how Tony would think of him if he couldn’t do anything. 

“Can we mix some chemicals together?” Peter asked as he followed Tony over to his work bench. 

“We can if you want to” Tony looked at Peter nodding his head so fast that Tony was sure if he did that then he would get a headache that wouldn’t go away any time soon. 

Tony looked around for somewhere for Peter to sit and work but it was always just Tony in his lab. Asides from the times where Pepper or Rhodey or occasionally Happy would come down to see if Tony was eating or drinking or if he was still alive but they would never work with him. 

Tony’s never had a buddy like this to work next to in his lab. Sometimes he would work along side Bruce but that was never in his lab. 

Tony just thought that he could put Peter at his work desk so he could do some chemical mixing and Tony could sit and watch him. 

Tony cleared some unimportant stuff off his desk and put it in a random bin and motioned for Peter to sit on his chair. 

Tony went to go grab some safety goggles for Peter and him and handed Peter his. He laughed when Peter struggled to put his on but Tony helped him after being amused by the struggle. 

Tony dragged over a random chair and sat next to Peter then they got to work. 

As always, Tony lost track of time in the lab. It appears that Peter has that same problem because pretty soon Pepper was coming down to stop them to tell them how late it was. 

Tony found out that Peter was a lot smarter than he originally thought he was. He was mixing chemicals like he’s been doing it for his whole life which considering how young Peter is, was not very long. 

“Hello Peter, how are you?” Pepper asked once she walked into the lap stealing both Tony’s and Peters attention away from the test tubes. 

“Pepper! Hi” Peter waved to her ignoring her question but by the looks on Peters face she didn’t need that answered. He looked extremely happy. 

“Hey Pep” Tony said smiling at Pepper. She walked over to them and kissed Tony’s head and then pat Peters head which he leaned into. 

“You boys having fun?” Pepper asked now leaning on Tony’s side. 

“Yeah, Peter over here is a genius” Tony winked at Peter but he really meant it. Peter was smarter than some of the grown ass men he’s worked with. 

That’s part of the reason he doesn’t wanna work with anyone in his lab because everybody is stupid and doesn’t know what they’re doing but then they act like they know which makes them appear even more stupid. 

“We’re mixing chemicals together” Peter said looking up at Pepper. 

“Do you know what time it is?” Pepper asked both of them. Peters face fell and he shrugged his shoulders. Tony did the same which caused Pepper to sigh. 

“Way past your bedtime” Pepper pointed to Peter on his chest which caused Peter to giggle. 

“I don’t have a bedtime” Tony joked and Peter stuck out his bottom lip and crossed his arms in a pout. 

“Nope. Both of you get upstairs” Pepper said in a joking yet firm voice so Tony stood up with Peter following. 

They made their way into the elevator after Tony shut down the lab and then upstairs to their floor. 

Pepper was probably better with kids than Tony was but she wasn’t surprised to see how good Tony had been with Peter in his lab. She knew that he would be good with the kid because they just seemed to have some sort of connection from beginning. 

“I’ll show you the room you’re gonna be staying in tonight, Peter” Pepper said and gently guided Peter to follow her down a long hall. Tony followed them too because he didn’t even think of setting up a bedroom for Peter even though it would be most obvious to do so. 

Tony was very thankful for Pepper in this situation because he knows that he’d completely lost. 

Pepper opened a door to one of their spare rooms but inside there was extra blankets and pillows and Tony guessed that Pepper had put those there for Peter. 

Peter walked in and looked around the room “Thank you”

The bedroom wasn’t one of their biggest bedrooms and Tony assumed that Pepper picked this one on purpose just because Peter wasn’t used to big rooms like this from his apartment.

“It’s no problem, honey” Pepper then walked over to the bathroom and opened the door then turned on the light. 

Peter walked over to Pepper and looked into the bathroom. The bathroom was huge. It had a sink in the middle of the counter and it had a glass door shower next to the jacuzzi bath tub.

Peter ran over to the bath and leaned over the side to look in. He turned back to Pepper “Can I have a bath?” 

“Yeah of course you can” Pepper said then turned to Tony who was now at the bathroom door “Do you wanna run the bath for him while I go get some soaps” 

Tony nodded then Pepper left and he walked over to Peter and sat down on the ledge. 

“It’s like a hot tub it’s so big” Peter pointed out and Tony smiled because he’s pretty sure Peter has never even seen a bath tub so big in his life. 

“There’s even Jets” Tony pointed to them and Peter looked to where he was pointing and made an exciting sound. 

It was different to have a child in the tower. With all these new sounds he was hearing coming out of the boy was something new. But it wasn’t a bad thing because sometimes new things are good. Just like how change is good no matter how much you may hate it at first it’s still good and it’s for the best. 

Tony turned on the tap and watched as the water came out. It was a design that Tony actually designed himself one night when he was bored and then decided to just put all the bath tubs in the tower with those taps. 

Tony designed it so that the water came out in a spiral shape and judging by Peters face watching the water come out, Peter liked it. 

“I’ll go get you a towel then you can go in” Tony said now standing up to get a towel for Peter. 

When he turned back around Peter was already unchanging and Tony suddenly felt really awkward because he didn’t really know how to act in this situation. He was planning on leaving before Peter changed and was gonna give him his privacy in the bath. 

Peter finished taking off his clothes and put them in a pile in the corner and then sat on the edge of the bath tub with one leg in the water. 

“Can I go in now?” Peter asked and just then Pepper walked in. 

“I have some soaps for you to use, Peter” Pepper said and then walked to the edge of the bath and put the soaps on the ledge. She touched the water seeming satisfied with the temperature then turning it off. 

“Can I go in now?” Peter asked again but this time to Pepper. 

“Go in, honey” 

Peter smiled and then stood up before getting into the bath. 

“We’ll be outside so call us if you need us” Pepper said and Tony didn’t miss the way that Peters face fell like he wanted them to stay to keep him company. 

Once outside the bathroom Tony turned to Pepper “How did you not react to him just sitting there naked?” 

Pepper looked at Tony with a confused expression “What do you mean?” 

“He just got undressed in front of me like he didn’t even care” Tony said in a whisper yell. 

Pepper laughed “Tony, he’s a child. He’s nine years old, do you think he really cares about that stuff” 

Tony didn’t say anything then Pepper spoke again “Kids don’t care about that stuff as long as they trust you and as long as you are trustful as the adult then it’s okay” 

Tony nodded his head. Maybe Pepper had a point. Tony didn’t really expect to be seeing Peter naked like that but he was just a child who definitely didn’t care about that stuff so Tony shouldn’t either. It wasn’t like he did care he was just confused but after Pepper just cleared things up it was okay. 

“I’m gonna go get his stuff” Pepper said kissing Tony on the cheek and walking out. 

Tony watched her walk away and was about to sit on the edge of Peters bed but then Peter called him in. 

“Hello?” Peter yelled from inside the bathroom so Tony walked in. 

He saw Peter just sitting in the bath looking bored and Tony felt a little bad for not having any toys for him. Who was he kidding, Tony didn’t even have child soaps never mind having toys for kids just sitting in his bathrooms. 

Tony made a mental reminder to buy some kids bath toys for him but then he thought that why was he just assuming that Peter would be coming over again and that this wasn’t just a one time thing. Wasn’t it? 

“Can you wash my hair?” Peter asked breaking Tony out of his thoughts. 

The question completely caught Tony off guard. He was not expecting to get asked that question ever in his life. He didn’t even know how to wash someone else’s hair. He knew he couldn’t just say no but maybe he could wait for Pepper to come back so she could do it. 

Tony looked towards the door for a certain strawberry haired women to walk through the bathroom but no one came. 

He looked back at Peter who was looking up at him with wide brown eyes. He didn’t know how he could say no to that face so he nodded his head. 

“Sure buddy, I’ll wash your hair for you” 

Tony grabbed another towel from under the sink and then put it on the ledge of the bath and got on his knees. It wasn’t comfortable but it was the only way he’d be able to wash Peters hair. 

Peter leaned back a bit in the bath and Tony grabbed the blue cup that was sitting on the ledge that he guessed Pepper brought in. 

Tony hesitate before dumping the blue cup into the bath filling it up with water and then he looked at Peters face. 

Peter was looking up at him with so much trust in his young eyes and it made Tony want to give him the world right there. 

How could a kid that has gone through so much in his life be so trusting towards another man like how Peter is. Peter should be hating the world for taking his parents away like that and then putting him with two horrible Aunts and Uncles. It’s just not fair but here Peter was putting his full trust into Tony after everything. 

Tony smiled at him and then dumped the cup of water over his hair to wet it down using his other hand to block any water from going into Peters eyes. 

Peter closed his eyes once the water started going into his face so Tony grabbed he towel to gently wipe away the water. 

Once Peters hair was all wet Tony looked for some safe shampoo for Peter and found one that Pepper brought in. 

He smelt it and it smelt like bananas “Smell this” Tony said putting the soap bottle near Peters nose. 

Peter leaned forward and smelled it “Mmm I love bananas” 

Tony laughed then poured some onto his hand and rubbed them together until it started foaming. Peter leaned back again and then Tony started massaging the soap into Peters hair. 

It was something that Tony’s never done before to anyone, not even Pepper because she was old enough to wash her own hair. But Peter, Peter was a child and it made Tony’s heart swell with a different kind of love then how he loves Pepper. 

It was almost parental. That’s the only way Tony knows how he could explain it. Having to take care of someone else like this.

Tony finished massaging the soap into Peters curly hair and then gently started rinsing the soap off. 

Once that was all done Tony put his hand on Peters back to help him sit back up and then grabbed the towel to get the water out of his eyes. 

Pepper walked into the bathroom and the only reason why Tony noticed her was because Peter waved.

When Tony turned around he was met with Pepper smiling like Tony’s never seen her smile like before. It was a strange soft almost proud smile. 

“You boys good in here?” She asked and leaned against the counter. 

“Yeah, we’re good” Tony smiled at her and then turned back to Peter who was trying to get the water off his face so Tony gave him a towel to help him. 

“I got you a facecloth, Peter” Pepper said handing Peter a light blue towel. Peter grabbed it from Pepper with a quiet ‘thank you’ and then dipped it into the water “You can use it to wash your body” 

Peter nodded his head and then poured some soap onto the now wet facecloth. 

Tony and Pepper left the room to get Peter his bag that he brought and once they were out of earshot from Peter, Pepper turned to Tony and smiled. 

“What?” Tony asked. 

Pepper shrugged her shoulders “Nothing” 

“No, why are you looking at me like that?” 

Pepper looked at Tony with a fond expression on her face “Did you wash his hair for him?” 

Tony nodded so Pepper continued “I think that’s really amazing, Tony. You’re really good with him and it’s just... it’s new” 

Tony was about to say something else and ask about what Pepper really meant by that but then he heard Peter calling out. 

“I’m done” Peter called out and Pepper sat down on the bed. 

“Go help him” She pushed him off with a smile so Tony went back into the bathroom to help Peter. 

When Tony walked into the bathroom Peter was standing in the bath shivering so Tony quickly wrapped the towel that was on the counter around Peter. 

“I didn’t- I didn’t know how to make the water go away because I couldn’t find a plug” Peter said. He grabbed the towel so it was wrapped around him tighter. 

“That’s okay,” Tony pressed a button and then all the water started going away “it’s kinda tricky” 

After the bath started draining, Tony led Peter out into the bedroom he was gonna be staying in tonight and grabbed the bag that had all of Peters stuff in it. 

“What pyjamas do you wanna wear tonight, buddy?” Tony asked, he opened the bag and then Peter walked over to him and looked inside. 

Pepper got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom to grab a towel for Peters hair. She didn’t want him getting sick from the wet hair and the cold especially because then May and Ben would probably blame Pepper and Tony even though it would be their fault because Peter didn’t know any better. 

When Pepper came back out Peter had picked the red ones to wear because Tony was holding the pants up for Peter to step into. 

Peter held onto Tony’s arm with one hand as he stepped into his pyjama pants and then Tony pulled them up. 

“I’m gonna dry your hair for you, Peter” Pepper said walking over to Peter and started rubbing the towel over his hair to dry it. This caused Peter to let out a giggle and then both Tony and Pepper looked at each other and softly smiled.

After Pepper was done drying his hair the best so could at least do it wasn’t dripping wet now, Tony helped Peter get his top on and then stood up. 

It read 10:35pm on the nightstand clock and Tony knew that it was way past a kids bedtime for someone Peters age. 

Just as he was gonna tell Peter he should go to bed, Peter spoke. 

“I’m hungry” Peter said quietly looking at the ground. 

Pepper looked up at Tony “Did you feed him dinner?” 

Tony just realized that he did not in fact feed Peter dinner. He felt horrible. The child had a hard time already admitting that he was hungry when Tony asked but the fact that Peter came out and had to say that probably meant that the kid was staving and it was all Tony’s fault for not being the responsible adult and actually feeding the kid. 

“Tony,” Pepper said annoyed then softened her expression and turned down to Peter “Come on Peter, let’s go get you some food” 

Peter grabbed Peppers hand and they started walking to the kitchen. 

Tony followed behind them. He thought that he was doing a good job looking after Peter but now he wasn’t so sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m soooo mad because my friend threw a party and I don’t really like parties but I want to experience that and make memories but I didn’t go and now I’m seeing on everyone’s story it was such a wild party and I missed it and now I’m really sad:((((
> 
> Also don’t mind the end notes under this I can’t get rid of it


	7. Angels hold you in your dreams

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii:) I’m posting this chapter a few days earlier just because I really don’t feel like editing it. So I’m really really sorry if there are any mistakes in here, if there are any really bad ones please comment and I’ll fix them. Hope you enjoy:))

Tony followed Pepper and Peter into the kitchen feeling guilty. 

Why did he not think about how Peter needed to eat? That’s the most obvious thing ever. For being a genius Tony could sometimes he very stupid. 

When he got to the kitchen Tony saw Peter sitting on one of the chairs and Pepper making something with her back turned to them.

Tony walked over to Peter and sat next to him on the chair by the island. 

“Guess I forgot to feed you, bud” Tony laughed uncomfortably. He put his arm on the table and leaned on it as he lifted down at Peter. 

Peter shrugged his shoulders and turned to Tony “It’s okay. Sometimes my Aunt forgets to give me dinner and she saids not to say anything” 

Tony and Pepper shared a look with each other that said that what Peter had just said broke both of their hearts. Peter was such a kind soul and even after the hell of a life that he is living he still comes out so kind. 

Tony didn’t really know how to respond to Peter because how do you respond to something like that. 

Thankfully Pepper got it “Oh Peter, I’m sorry to hear that but we’ll never forget to feed you again, okay?” 

Peter sat up straighter in his chair and looked confused “Does that mean that I can come back and stay with you guys?”

Tony and Pepper looked at each other again and this time Tony had it “Is that what you would like?”

Peter turned to Tony and nodded his head really fast with a giant smile on his face. 

“Then it’s settled. You can come over whenever you want, kid” Tony smiled back at Peter and Peter squealed. 

Tony looked at Pepper and his smile dropped when he saw the look she was giving him. She looked unimpressed at what Tony had just said so Tony shrugged his shoulders. 

“Here you go, honey” Pepper handed Peter a plate that had grilled cheese on it and a glass full of apple juice. 

Peter smiled and picked up his grilled cheese to eat it. 

“We’ll be right back, Peter” Pepper said and she motioned for Tony to follow her. 

Tony got up. He knew he was going to get in trouble now but he didn’t even know what he did wrong. He followed her into the living room until they were out of sight of Peter. 

Pepper stopped walking and turned to Tony “You can’t do that, Tony”

Tony shook his head out of confusion “I can’t do what?”

Pepper sighed “You can’t make promises to him you can’t keep. You know the family he comes from, you think that they’re gonna let him come over just because he wants to and you said he could. You’re getting his hopes up and it’s not gonna end well”

“I’m giving him something to look forward to and so that he knows that he’s always welcome here” Tony looked to where Peter was but he couldn’t see him. He just wanted Peter to understand that he was always gonna be here for him. 

Tony knew that he just met Peter and that it was Probably way too soon to be feeling like he wanted to protect the kid from anything but he couldn’t help it. For some reason he just felt like he had to be there for Peter. No matter what. 

Tony focused back on Pepper and right when she was about to say something they heard something chatter where Peter was. 

Tony and Pepper both went to go see what the sound was and when they got there they saw Peter sitting on the chair looking at the now broken glass on the floor that was once his glass of apple juice. He looked like he had just seen a ghost and his breathing was really fast. 

Tony stepped forwards first carful not to step on any glass. 

“Hey bud, you okay?” Tony asked. He watched as Peter seemed to snap out of whatever trance he was in and looked up at Tony with wide eyes. 

Peters eyes quickly filled with tears “I’m sorry. I’m s-sorry. I didn’t- I didn’t mean to”

Tony held up his hands to try and calm Peter down. He didn’t understand why Peter was acting like he was about to get screamed at but then he thought about that’s exactly what Peter thought was about to happen because that’s what he’s used to at home. 

Peter went to go step off the chair and right into the glass but Tony stopped him before he could step on the glass. 

“Don’t move, Peter” Tony said. Peter didn’t listen to Tony and continued to move anyways. 

Tony stepped closer to Peter where there was no glass and picked him up before he could step barefoot right into the glass. 

Right when Tony picked him up Peter started kicking and screaming and trying to get away from Tony. Tony quickly walked over to Pepper and put Peter down. 

Peter stopped once Tony put him down and he immediately ran over to Pepper and grabbed her arm looking up at her with wide pleading eyes. 

“I’m sorry. I’m s-sorry. P-please don’t let him. Please, I-I’m sorry” Peter begged and Pepper looked down at Peter with tears in her eyes. 

Tony heard what Peter said and decided to back off. It hurt him to know that Peter was so worked up that he thought that Tony was gonna hurt him. 

Tony stood at a distance to let Pepper handle it. 

Pepper bent down to Peters level and held his arms “Peter, you’re okay. You’re safe, Peter. No one is gonna hurt you” 

Peter stopped crying a little bit and he looked back at Tony and then back at Pepper. 

“Do you- do you promise?” Peter asked in a small voice and Pepper nodded. 

“I promise you, Peter. You’re safe here” Pepper smiled at Peter to try and get him to calm down.

Once Peter seemed to relax a little bit Pepper stood up and slowly walked with Peter over to Tony. 

Peter went and stood close to Pepper when Tony bent down to be at his level. 

“I’d never hurt you, Peter” Tony explained “I want you to know that you can trust me”

Tony needed Peter to know that no matter what happens, Tony would never hurt Peter and that Peter could trust him. 

“Do you promise?” Peter asked in a small voice. 

Tony held up his pinky finger “I pinky promise I’ll never hurt you, Peter”

Peter smiled and held up his tiny pinky finger to promise with Tony. 

After that Tony stood up. It was really late now and he knew that Peter was probably exhausted. 

“You ready to go to bed now?” Tony asked and Peter nodded. He yawned and rubbed his eyes for more effect. 

“I’ll clean this up you get him ready” Pepper smiled and kissed Tony on the cheek. 

Tony nodded and then began walking to Peters bedroom. He felt something grab his hand and looked down to see Peter holding his hand. Tony smiled at the gesture and then kept walking. 

Once in the bedroom Tony grabbed Peters bag and handed it to him. 

“Get your toothbrush out so you can brush those beautiful teeth of yours” Tony said and Peter giggled. 

Peter dug in his bag and then pulled out his toothbrush. He walked into the bathroom and Tony sat on the bed to wait for him. 

Soon after Peter came out and made a dash to his bag with a worried expression on his face. 

He started digging through his bag and so Tony asked him “What’re looking for?”

Peter continued looking as he answered “I think I forgot my toothpaste”

“Oh that’s okay, there’s some in the bathroom you can use” Tony stood up to get the toothpaste out of the bathroom. 

Peter followed him and then grabbed what Tony was handing him. It was mint toothpaste and it had to be cherry flavour. 

Peter tossed it onto the counter “No. I can’t use this” 

“What’s wrong with this one-“ Tony was cut off by Peters scream. 

“It’s not cherry! It has to be cherry toothpaste!” Peter said frustrated and Tony backed away out of surprise. 

“Okay well, mint it pretty good too so maybe-“ Tony tried but was cut off by Peter again. 

“No! No, it has to be cherry I can’t use it if it’s not cherry!” Peter started to cry and Tony guessed that it was out of pure exhaustion. 

He thought that Peter probably didn’t care about whether or not his toothpaste was cherry or mint and was more crying out of exhaustion. 

Pepper walked into the bathroom looking confused and also tired. 

“What’s going on?” She asked. 

“Peter wants his cherry-“ 

Tony was cut off again by Peter. 

“I wan’ my cherry toothpaste not mint!” Peter let out a sob and then fell to the floor. 

“How about you try the mint one. I think it’s good-“ Pepper tried but was cut off by Peter. 

Tony was about to start losing his patience with Peter and force him to use the mint one because it wasn’t a big deal but apparently it was a big deal to Peter. He knew he couldn’t force Peter to do that no matter how badly he wanted to. 

Tony bent down so he was closer to Peter who was having a temper tantrum on the ground.

“I got an idea Peter” Tony began. Peter stopped crying a bit and looked at Tony “But you have to stop crying and follow me”

Tony stood up and held his hand out for Peter to take. Peter reached up and grabbed Tony’s hand and then Tony led him into his bedroom. Pepper followed them and she stood by the doorway watching the two as Tony led Peter into his bathroom. 

Tony picked Peter up and put him on the counter. He grabbed his own toothbrush and wet it before putting mint toothpaste on it. 

Peter watched with wide eyes. 

“I’m gonna brush my teeth with you with my favourite toothpaste that I’ll let you use. You can try it and see if you like it and if you don’t then you never have to use it again and I’ll buy you ten cherry toothpastes just for you. Deal?” Tony held his hand out for Peter to shake. Peter seemed to think about it for a second and then shook Tony’s hand. 

Tony then grabbed Peters toothbrush out of his hand wet it and put a little bit of toothpaste on it. 

Tony started brushing his teeth and then gestured for Peter to do the same. Peter slowly raised the toothbrush up to his mouth and then started brushing. He made a face of disgust and went to take it out but then Tony grabbed it from him. 

He put his own toothbrush in his mouth for a second as he helped Peter brush his teeth. 

Once they were both done and rinsed their mouth and toothbrushes off, Tony picked Peter up off the counter and placed him on the floor. 

He saw Pepper watching from the doorway with a smile on her face. Tony smiled too and then looked down at Peter. 

“Was that so bad?”

Peter nodded his head “Yes”

“Alright,” Tony laughed “A deals a deal” 

Peter smiled and then reached his arms up to Tony. 

“You want me to carry you?” 

Peter nodded. 

Tony picked Peter up and held him on his hip. He didn’t mind carrying Peter because it made him feel some kind of way in his heart. It was what he imagined parents felt when watching their kids do something that made them proud.

Tony carried Peter to his bedroom with Pepper following. Peter put his head on Tony’s shoulder and Tony loves that. 

When they got to Peters room, Pepper moved back the blankets and Tony gently placed Peter in the bed.

Tony placed Peter down and stood back up then Pepper moved to cover Peter with the blankets. 

Tony looked at Peters tiny pure face and couldn’t help the feeling that he felt in his heart. He wished he could protect Peter from everything that happened to him but it was too late to do that now. 

What he could protect Peter from now was everything else that Peter needed protecting from in the world in his future. Tony could do that. 

“Goodnight, Peter” Pepper said softly. 

“M’night” Peter said. He lifted the blankets up to his head and cuddled into it. 

Tony smiled at him “Sleep tight, kid”

Tony and Pepper then turned and left the bedroom. They left the door open a crack not really knowing how to leave the door then they went to their bedroom. 

“He’s a good kid” Tony said as he starting getting ready for bed himself. 

Pepper changed into her pyjamas “After everything that happened to him I’m surprised he is”

Tony got into bed and lied down. He thought about everything that happened in the kitchen and how Peter reacted when he dropped the glass. It was pretty obvious what went on behind closed doors at Peters house. 

“I want him dead” Tony said “His Uncle. I want him dead” 

Pepper looked at Tony and walked closer to him “Tony, whatever you’re thinking you can’t do it. There are ways of dealing with this stuff”

Tony scuffed “Oh like what? Getting the police involved? Doing an investigation? You know those things takes months sometimes years and never mind all the court dates, I don’t want Peter to have to go through all that. He’s a kid”

“So what are you gonna do, Tony?” Pepper asked annoyed and angry “Are you gonna take matters into your own hands? Are you gonna murder that child’s Uncle?”

Tony didn’t say anything. He didn’t know what he was gonna do but Peter was getting sexually assaulted and he had no idea how far it went and he couldn’t just do nothing about it. Something had to be done.

For now though, Peter was safe and was asleep down the hall from him. 

.  
.  
.

Tony woke up to something tapping him on the forehead. 

He opened his eyes and once his eyes adjusted to the light coming from the hallway Tony could see someone standing beside his bed. 

“Peter?” Tony asked. He didn’t know who else would be that small tapping his forehead in the middle of the night. 

“I wet the bed” Peter said and it took Tony a few seconds to process it. 

Tony sat up in bed and looked at Peter “You what?” 

“I wet the bed” Peter said again. He had his blanket in his arms and his hair was a mess. 

Tony thought about it for a few seconds and let it process in his half asleep brain. He was pretty sure Peter was too old be to wetting the bed like that but then again maybe not because Tony didn’t know much about kids. 

“Ok uh, I’ll help you” Tony said then got out of bed. He walked to Peters room with Peter walking beside him. 

Once Tony looked down at Peter he saw that his pyjama pants were all wet and Tony felt bad for him. 

Tony stepped into Peters room and turned on the light and stepped towards the bed seeing the wet patch. 

“I’ll just take these off and then put new sheets on” Tony said beginning to strip the bed but then he looked at Peter standing there looking tired and confused. 

Tony guessed that he should probably get Peter cleaned up first before he does anything else. 

“You should take a shower first, kid” Tony walked into the bathroom with Peter following behind him. He started the shower and helped Peter take off his pyjama shirt and wet pants. 

“I’ll be in the other room if you need me” Tony went to the other room and finished taking off all the wet sheets. 

“Tony?”

Tony looked over and saw Pepper at the doorway rubbing her eyes “Hey Pep”

“What’s going on, Tony?” Pepper asked stepping into the room. 

“Peter wet the bed” Tony explained “he’s in the shower now”

Peppers face softened and then she started helping Tony put the new sheets on. 

After they were done changing the sheets, Peter walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel around his shoulders. 

“Hi sweetie, did you have a bad dream?” Pepper asked sitting at the edge of the bed and motioning for Peter to sit next to her. 

Peter leaned against the bed and shook his head “No”

Tony and Pepper both looked at each other and just guessed that Peter probably did have a bad dream and just didn’t remember. 

“Here’s some clean pyjamas for you, bud” Tony held out some of Peters clean ones for him and then Peter grabbed it and put them on. 

“Are you mad at me?” Peter asked standing in front of Tony and Pepper who were both sitting on the edge of the bed. 

“No, bud. Accidents happen it’s nothing to be embarrassed about” Tony said and felt the need to run his hands through Peters hair as he watched him stand there looking really small. 

“I’m not embarrassed” Peter shrugged. 

Tony then noticed how Peter has been so calm about the whole thing. When Peter first told Tony he wet the bed he said it like he was telling Tony the weather, it was so casual. 

Now Peter wasn’t even embarrassed or scared that he was gonna get in trouble or even act like how he acted when he dropped the glass. 

“We’re not mad, honey” Pepper spoke and then stood up and walked to the head of the bed “But you need to go back to sleep now”

Peter walked over to the head of the bed and crawled in. Pepper tucked him in which caused Tony to smile at the sight and his heart fill with something warm. 

“Sleep good, sweetie” Pepper brushed Peters curls out of the way and then stood up and walked to the door. 

“Good night, bud” Tony said and waved to Peter. 

They both turned off the light and left the door open a bit then made their way back to the room. 

Peter definitely surprised the both of them with how he acted with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started working and I work with young kids and I love it so much. I worked with them last summer too and it’s just so much fun I love making a difference in their lives:))
> 
> Also as usual please ignore the end notes after this. It’s some weird glitch I can’t get rid of


	8. You’re all I have

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t remember if I edited this or not so if they are any mistakes I’m sorry. I hope you all enjoy:)) today was so much fun I work with 4 year olds and we went to a water park today and I had so much fun

Tony didn’t get much sleep the rest of the night. 

It wasn’t because of Peter or anything it was just because once Tony was up in the night he was up for good and there was no going back to sleep even if he tried. 

It was an early morning for Tony so by the time Pepper had woken up at seven in the morning Tony was already on his third cup of coffee and had proudly done a lot of work. 

“How long have you been up for?” Pepper asked as she made her breakfast which included blueberry yogurt and strawberries. 

“Pretty much since Peters accident” Tony said taking another sip of his coffee. 

“That was hours ago. Did you even try to go back to sleep?” Pepper asked concerned. 

“Yeah, I did. You know I can’t fall asleep once I’m up” Tony said then looked back at his phone. 

They spent the rest of the time in silence with Tony drinking his coffee that he knew he shouldn’t be drinking and Pepper eating her breakfast. 

After a few minutes Tony looked up and saw Peter walking into the kitchen with his blanket against his chest and his curls sticking up everywhere.

“Good morning, kid” Tony put down his phone and coffee and watched Peter. 

Peter walked over to Tony and leaned against the table. He looked at Tony with so much trust in his eyes and it made Tony’s heart burst. 

“You hungry?” Peter nodded “Alright, we have-“

Peter cut Tony off “Can we make pancakes together?”

“You want pancakes?” Tony asked and Peter nodded with his hair bouncing everywhere. 

“Alright then! Pancakes it is” 

Tony and Peter spent the rest of the morning making pancakes together. By the end of it Peter was covered in almost head to toe in pancake batter and Tony had it all in his hair which he still didn’t know how he got it in there. 

“Look at you boys” Pepper said smiling as she walked into the kitchen. She left right when they had started to make the pancakes because she went to get dressed for the day. 

“We made you pancakes!” Peter said excitedly from where he was sitting on the kitchen counter. Pepper smiled at the sight of him because he was covered in the batter and it made him look really cute. 

“Thank you but I’ve gotta run” Pepper said “But before I go...”

Pepper pulled out her phone and took a picture of the two of them. In the picture Peter was smiling wide sitting on the counter on his knees covered in pancake batter and Tony was standing behind him leaning against the counter with it all in his hair. 

Pepper smiled at the few pictures that she took and then put her phone in her pocket “I’ve gotta get going to this meeting but I’ll be back in an hour or so”

Pepper walked over to the other side of the kitchen island and kissed Tony on the cheek and then patting Peters hair. 

“Bye Pepper!” Peter yelled after her. Pepper waved goodbye and then she left. 

“You’re not gonna leave right?” Peter asked nervously to Tony who was putting the pancakes onto plates. 

“No. Sorry kid but your stuck with me” Tony said lifting Peter off the counter with one arm and putting him on the ground. 

Peter smiled because he liked the sound of that. He liked Tony because he was really fun and Peter felt really safe with him. 

They ate their pancakes together at the table and once they were finished Peter had an idea to built a fort together.

Peter ran over to the living room and turned around waiting for Tony to follow him. Once Tony made it to the living room Peter jumped excitedly. 

“Can we build a fort?” Peter asked looking up at Tony with wide eyes.

“If that’s what you want to do” Tony smiled. He watched as Peter’s face lit up and he ran over to the couch. 

“Can I take the blankets off?” Peter asked in a small voice while looking up at Tony with wide eyes. 

The way Peter asked was as if he was scared that Tony was gonna say no and then start yelling at him and that scared him to think of why Peter would think that and what happened to him that made him think that. 

Tony nodded his head and went to help Peter take the blankets and pillows off the couches “Of course you can, kid”

Tony and Peter spent the next hour building their fort. Tony had to admit that he actually had a lot of fun while doing it because Peter was a very smart child and it was interesting for Tony to watch how Peter came up with different ideas to make the Fort stronger and better. 

Once the Fort was finished Tony was putting the last blanket over the front to make it like a front door and Peter was excitedly bouncing next to Tony waiting to go inside. 

“All done!” Tony said after it was done. He took a few steps back and looked at his handy work. Although, Peter did most of the work. 

“Let’s go inside!” Peter said before crouching down and slowly crawling inside the Fort. Tony went in to follow him as well. 

They both sat in the Fort with Peter admiring what it looks like and Tony admiring Peter’s wide brown eyes that were so brave. 

Tony really liked having Peter around. It was nothing he was used to at all. He would never be seen near children unless it was for a quick picture because he doesn’t know how to handle them. Tony thought he was never good with them just because he’s never actually had the chance to be around one like he is now with Peter. Maybe it was just because it was Peter who was so smart and caring even after everything he’s been through and technically still going through. 

“Where are you boys?” Pepper called out pulling Tony out of his thoughts. 

He looked at Peter who looked extremely surprised to hear a random voice. Tony watched as Peter must have realized it was Pepper because his body relaxed. 

“We’re in here!” Peter called out. 

Tony heard high heels coming closer to them “What’s this?” Pepper asked. 

Tony crawled out of the Fort and stood up while stretching his back and fixing his messy hair. Peter crawled out as well and Tony smiled at his messy hair. 

“We built a Fort” Peter explained “Me and Tony”

Tony looked at Pepper surprised. It was Peters first time actually calling him anything and he liked that he called him ‘Tony’.

Tony smiled down at Peter and went to run his hands through his messy hair before even thinking about what he was doing. 

“Oh I see that” Pepper said. She bent down to peek inside the Fort. 

“Want be to show you inside? It’s so cool!” Peter said moving to grab Peppers hand. 

“Maybe later,” Pepper said “Right now you need to eat some food”

Tony looked down in shame because he forgot to feed Peter while Pepper was gone. That was hard for Tony to remember because he barely eats himself or remembers to do so. It was difficult for him to now have to remember to feed a child as well. 

“Can we go in later?” Peter asked while he grabbed Peppers hand and they walked into the kitchen. 

“We’ll see, sweetie” Pepper moved to open the fridge and asked Peter what he wanted. 

Tony watched as the kid got stolen from him like that and he didn’t really want to feel jealous that Peter was now giving his attention to Pepper so he pretended it didn’t bug him and followed them into the kitchen and sat on the chairs. 

Tony sat back and watched Pepper cook with Peter showing him how to measure the right ingredients and pouring them into the bowl. Tony smiled at Peter’s beaming eyes and giant smile. 

He enjoyed watching the two talk and laugh together. He knew he could get used to this. 

Peter has only been at the tower for less than a day and Tony could already see this as a permanent thing. He liked the way he felt when Peter was around. He felt almost parental like he had to care and protect Peter. 

Before Tony knew it, Peter was done eating and was running back over to the living room. 

Tony looked at Pepper and smiled “I have to talk to you, Tony” Pepper said. 

Tony’s smile dropped and he looked at her seriously now “About what?”

“Just get him to watch a movie or something first” Pepper said then turned around and continued to wash the dishes. 

Tony nodded as he made his way over to Peter to put a movie in for him. He hated whenever Pepper said they needed to talk because it was always her yelling at him for something he did wrong but he didn’t think he did anything wrong so why would she want to talk to him. 

“Are you gonna play with me?” Peter asked sitting on the ground with his legs stretched out in front of him. 

Tony shook his head and bent down so he was closer to Peters height “No, I’m sorry but I have to do some work now so I’m gonna play a movie for you”

Tony didn’t like how Peter’s face fell at hearing that Tony couldn’t play with him “Then Can Pepper play with me?”

Tony shook his head again “She has to do some work too”

Peter crossed his arms in a pout. Tony saw tears come to Peters eyes and he didn’t want him to cry “Don’t cry, buddy. We’ll play later together”

Peter just nodded sadly and then crawled onto the couch. Tony played some children’s movie and left Peter on the couch. 

When Tony walked over to the kitchen he felt the nerves hit him. He didn’t know why Pepper wanted to talk to him and it scared him.

Tony leaned against the kitchen counter next to the sink where Pepper was washing the dishes. 

“You wanted to talk” Tony said and Pepper looked at him then looked to see where Peter was before beginning. 

“Peter’s Aunt was supposed be to picking him up now” Pepper started “She had the night shift and was supposed to pick him up around noon but she’s not here and she’s not answering her phone and it’s three”

Tony didn’t really mind the fact that Peter’s Aunt hadn’t picked him up yet because he liked Peter staying with him at the tower but it was kinda concerning. 

“She probably just forgot” Tony said “You can’t be surprised with them”

Pepper nodded “I know but this isn’t right”

“Of course it isn’t but we can’t just tell Peter to walk home. He stays here” Tony said. He didn’t want to admit it but he was glad that this was happening because it means that Peter gets to stay longer with them and less with his Uncle. 

“I’ll wait until six and if she hasn’t called by then I’m going over there” Pepper explained then put the last dish on the towel and turned the tap off. 

“I’ll go over there at six” Tony said then Pepper kissed him on the cheek and left. 

Tony stood there for a few seconds thinking about everything and then made his way back over to Peter who was now asleep on the couch. 

Tony sat down next to him and went on his phone. He finally had the time to do some research and see why Peter had wet the bed last night. 

Peter was still a child do it wasn’t like it was bad for him to be wetting the bed but it was a bit odd the way he acted. How he said that he didn’t have a nightmare and he acted like the bed wetting was a normal thing that happened to it a lot. 

Tony looked it up and saw some articles about why a ten year old would be wetting the bed. 

A lot of the articles led bed wetting at that age to sexual abuse. It broke Tony’s heart to read but it was true with what he knows what Peters Uncle does to him. 

Tony came across many sexual abuse articles that related to bed wetting and some also said that it could be because the child is in a new bed and in a new environment and that’s exactly where Peter is.

After Tony did lots of research about why a child was still wetting the bed at Peter’s age and coming across many reasons that related to Peter’s situation, Tony decided to go tell Pepper. 

He also read that a child Peter’s age should not be wearing diapers or in Peter’s case, pull-ups, Tony now knew why he saw the box of pull-ups in Peter’s room at his house, he read that with the help from an adult, Peter could stop wetting the bed but if he didn’t get any help then he could be wetting the bed well into his teen years. 

Tony knew that Peter’s Aunt and Uncle didn’t care that much and that’s why they took the easy way out and just bought Peter pull-ups. 

Tony left Peter on the couch to continue sleeping while he went to go tell Pepper. 

Tony walked into their bedroom and saw her sitting on her side of the bed looking at her phone. 

“Hey Pep” Tony said then he went to go sit on the edge of the bed. 

“Is Peter still sleeping?” Pepper asked looking up from her phone. Tony nodded. “Still no call yet”

Tony was glad in a way because that meant more time with Peter but he didn’t like it because that meant that Peter had people raising him who just didn’t care at all. 

“It’s almost six” Tony pointed out. He was ready to make a trip to their apartment whenever but he was dreading it because he knew it was gonna be a horrible trip to make. 

“Let’s just wait and see” Pepper said then went back to her phone. 

Tony nodded. He remembered why he came in the bedroom in the first place “I was doing some research” 

Pepper eyed Tony comically “When are you not doing research, Tony” She joked. 

“You know me so well,” Tony smiled “But that’s not what I meant”

Tony continued “I was doing research to see why Peter wet the bed last night”

Pepper nodded motioning for him to continue so he did “It saids that it could be because he’s in a new place and new bed. Or because he’s been sexually assaulted and it causes bed wetting”

Pepper tried to take it all in. She didn’t like the fact that Peter wet the bed, not because she had to wash the sheets and they’ll probably have to get a new bed, she didn’t care about that. She didn’t like it because she knew it wasn’t pleasant for Peter and he was probably so scared and it seemed like he wet the bed a lot at home. 

“We can stop it though” Tony said almost excitedly “It saids that with help, Peter can stop wetting the bed. His Aunt and Uncle probably don’t care enough because I saw a box of pull-ups in Peter’s bedroom at his apartment”

Pepper thought about everything Tony said but one thing stuck out “You think that we can do it?” Pepper asked. She put stressed on the word ‘we’ as if she was asking Tony why he said that. 

“I mean, his Aunt and Uncle don’t care enough-“

Pepper cut Tony off “Tony! Children are difficult. Just because Peter has a box of pull-ups in his room doesn’t mean he wears them a the time or that they don’t care enough”

Tony scuffed “Oh so you think that the box of pull-ups made me think that they don’t care? I think that because of the fact that it’s way past noon, they still haven’t called and Peter is asleep on the couch”

Tony practically yelled. He took a few breaths to try and calm himself down. 

Pepper knew that Tony cared about Peter a lot but she didn’t know that he cared this much about him. She could see the genuine care in his eyes whenever she looked at him looking at Peter and the way he was speaking about him right now. 

“You’re right. You’re right, Tony. I know” Pepper admitted. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. 

Just then her phone rang, scaring both of them. 

Pepper answered at seeing who was calling.

“Hello, May” 

Pepper put the phone on speaker so Tony could hear it too “I’m so sorry for taking so long to get back to you” May said “I just got home from work and I fell asleep. We aren’t used to not having Peter so it was nice to get a break from him constantly needing something or crying”

Tony almost said something at the almost hidden horrible remark that May said about Peter but Pepper held her finger up to stop him. 

“He’s no bother at all, really. He’s been nice to have” Pepper said into the phone. 

May ignored what she said and continued “I hate to put this on you again so if you can’t its totally okay but would you and Mr. Stark be able to watch Peter for another night and then take him to school on Monday? Ben can pick him up after school” 

Tony immediately nodded his head with a slight smile creeping up to his face. 

“Yes, absolutely we can” Pepper said “Would you like to speak to him before we go?”

“Oh great! Thank you so much and no that won’t be necessary” May said then hung up. 

Pepper and Tony looked at each other on shook and happiness. 

Tony was over the moon happy. He loved having Peter around and he didn’t want to send him home just yet and thankfully he didn’t have to. 

Tony and Pepper walked back out into the living room to tell Peter the news. Tony had no idea how he would react. 

He didn’t know if Peter would be happy or sad because he would miss his Aunt and Uncle. He guessed that Peter would be sad because he was a young child that would miss his Aunt and Uncle. 

Tony sat down next to Peter and gently patted his leg “Pete, wake up”

Peter moved a bit until his eyes opened and landed on Tony. He grinned once his eyes adjusted to the light. 

“Sit up, buddy. We wanna talk to you” Tony said helping Peter sit up straighter so his back was against the couch. 

Peter’s smile fell and he looked between Pepper and Tony scared “Am I in trouble?”

Tony shook his head and Pepper cooed and patted his knee. 

“No, buddy. But we talked to your Aunt and she saids that you have to stay with us until Monday” Tony explained. 

Despite what Tony thought, Peters face lit up. He smiled so wide and stood up “Wait! Really?” 

Tony nodded. “Yeah, Peter!” Pepper said excitedly. 

Peter started bouncing up and down excitedly and threw himself into Tony’s arms and hugged him tight. 

“I’m so happy I get to stay with you!” Peter said excitedly and then let go of Tony to look at him in the eyes. 

“I am too, bud” Tony said and he meant it. 

He couldn’t wait to get to have Peter for a few more days. He liked having Peter around and he didn’t want to see him leave just yet. Or at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just wanted to say thank you sooo much for all your support and comments. It honestly makes my whole day when I see one and I just wanted to say I really love you all I never expected to get so much support on this:)) sooo thank you
> 
> As always please ignore the end notes under this I can’t get rid of it


	9. Darkness right in front of me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hii I hope everyone is having a good day!! I randomly got sick at work today and I was dead and I feel a bit better not not really so I really wanna write but I’m just not feeling up to it but hopefully I’ll get better soon:)

The weekend was going by pretty fast. 

Peter and Tony spent the rest of the day in the lab together with Tony showing Peter how to build part of the Iron Man armour. Peter was extremely excited and so it was hard to get the kid to bed but Tony managed to do it with the help from Pepper. 

Peter wet the bed again that night. 

It had not even been two hours after they put him to bed and already FRIDAY was telling Tony and Pepper about his accident. 

They both gave each other sad looks from where they were sitting across from each other on the couch. Maybe it was more of a common thing in Peter’s life than Tony originally thought it was. 

“I’ll go help him” Tony said while he stood up from the couch and went to go make his way to Peter’s room that he was staying in. 

As Tony made his way over he heard slight moving around coming from inside Peter’s room. Tony slowly approached it and knocked on the door “Pete? Are you okay?”

Tony waited for a response. Nothing. He slowly opened the door and walked in. 

Peter was already awake and up. He had already attempted to remove the sheets from the bed and was now standing there staring at Tony with wide eyes. 

“What’s wrong, bud?” Tony asked. He already knew but he wanted Peter to say what happened himself. 

Peter sniffled and rubbed his tiny fist to his eye “I-I wet the b-bed again”

As Tony moved forward he could see the wet patch on Peter’s pants between his legs.

He approached Peter slowly as to not scare him too much. Peter didn’t seem to be acting how he did the first time he wet the bed where he acted like he didn’t care but now he seemed really distraught about it. 

“It’s okay, bud. It happens to everyone” Tony tried to calm the small child in front of him.

It broke Tony’s heart at the fact that Peter was having to deal with this at his age. It wasn’t even like a thing that happened once in awhile but it was the second night this was happening and Tony was pretty sure that it happened almost every night if not every night.

Tony moved the blankets back on the bed and saw the wet patch and he went to help Peter who had already start to take the sheets off the bed. They removed all the urine stained sheets and Tony put it in a pile by the bedroom door so he could bring it to the laundry room once he got Peter cleaned. 

“You should go wash up in the shower before it starts to get irritated” Tony said, he tossed the last of the sheets onto the floor and turned to look at Peter with sad eyes. 

He looked way to young for his age to begin with and he desperately wished he could just keep fr from ever leaving his side for as long as he lives. Tony knew with all the power he had that if he really tried he could do that and stop Peter from ever seeing his Uncle again but he knew he couldn’t just take Peter away from the people that were his family. Even if that family was doing horrible things to Peter. 

Tony knew he had to do something to stop it but he couldn’t take Peter so he had to think of something else and another way to stop it. 

He watched as Peter nodded his head while looking up at Tony with hopeful eyes. Peter looked like he wanted to say something but he never did as he slowly turned around and started making his way into the bathroom that was attached to the bedroom. 

Tony decided to ask something that he thought that Peter wanted to ask but was too scared to “Do you need any help?”

Peter thought about it. Tony could see as he thought the question over but then he turned to Tony and to Tony’s surprise he shook his head and then walked into the bathroom and shut the door. 

As surprised as Tony was he didn’t want to push Peter so he picked up the dirty sheets and quickly made his way to the laundry room before dumping the sheets into the washer and turning it on then making his way back to Peter’s room. 

As Tony waited for Peter to finish up in the shower he went into the closet and grabbed some fresh sheets and started re-making the bed so it was clean. 

Tony thought about how often he had to do this in the two days that Peter had been here. It was crazy and if you told Tony a year ago that he would be cleaning a bed that a child peed in he would have laughed in their face and grabbed another drink but people can change a lot in a year. 

Just as Tony was done the bathroom door opened to reveal a very sad looking Peter standing in the door way with the towel wrapped around his shoulders. 

He was holding the towel around himself like it was his lifeline so Tony approached him very slowly. 

“Hey Pete, I changed your bed and I got your fresh pyjamas over here” Tony pointed to the dresser where he put out clean pyjamas for Peter and he watched as Peter’s wet head turned around to look at them and then looked back at Tony confused. 

Tony ignored the look that Peter was giving him and instead walked to the dresser and handed Peter the fresh pyjama tip and pants. 

Peter let go of the towel with one hand so he could reach his arm out to grab his pyjamas “Thanks”

Tony nodded and tried to give Peter a smile but he didn’t look at him so Tony looked away. 

Peter took his pyjamas and went to go back into the bathroom so he could change. It surprised Tony because just a day ago the kid barely knew him and he was taking a bath in front of him and now he didn’t even seem to want to be around Tony.

Once Peter shut the door he dropped his towel and quickly put his shaky legs through his pyjama pants and then putting the shirt over his head. He didn’t understand why Tony was being so nice to him. He should be yelling at him for wetting the bee at nine years old. 

He knew he was way to old to be still wetting the bed but he couldn’t stop. He knew it made his Auntie and his Uncle really mad at him and that’s why they made him wear pull-ups to bed and he honestly didn’t mind wearing them because that means that he doesn’t get yelled at in the mornings but he still wakes up with a sore butt and sore boy part but it was worth it to not get yelled at. 

He just didn’t understand now why Tony was being so nice to him about it. He knows he should be getting in trouble or maybe even hit for doing what he did but the man was nice about it. Almost like he felt bad for Peter. 

Peter slowly opened the bathroom door and saw Tony sitting on the edge of the bed. Peter even felt bad for the man changing his sheets for him. Usually Peter would be stripped of his wet clothes and forced to clean the sheets by himself because it was usually when he Aunt was at work otherwise she would help him but she would still be mad. 

Peter felt better that he didn’t have to clean his own sheets himself.

“Uh, thank you for helping me” Peter said to Tony. He stood there awkwardly because he didn’t really know what to do now. He was tired but he didn’t want to go back to sleep no matter how tired he was and how comfortable the bed looked. He also wanted Tony to stay with him but he didn’t want to ask the man that. 

“It’s no problem, kid. I wouldn’t let you deal with this alone” Tony smiled at Peter and this time Peter looked up at him but instead of smiling back Tony saw as tears came to Peter’s eyes and he started crying. 

“Pete?” Tony asked this concern standing up and making his way over to Peter. 

Peter didn’t know why he was crying all of the sudden but he didn’t really care now because it looked like Tony was about to give him the comfort that he was too scared to ask for. 

Peter lifted his arms up for Tony feeling like a much smaller child than he actually was but to his disappointment Tony didn’t carry him like he had before or snatch him up in his arms. Instead he put his hands on Peter’s shoulders and gently guided him over to the bed so he was now standing between Tony’s legs. 

Peter tried to hold in his cries which resulted in sad hiccuping and he brought his closed fists to rub his eyes with to try and stop the tears. 

He felt a gentle thumb rub across his cheek to catch the tears that were falling. 

“Why are you crying, buddy?” Tony asked sadly “You have to tell me so I can help you”

Peter wanted to tell Tony. Even though he just met the man he already had so much trust for him. Trust that he never felt with anyone else not even his Aunt and Uncle. He knew he was a horrible person for thinking that about his Aunt and Uncle after they took him in after his parents died but he still thought it. 

He trusted Tony because he didn’t hurt him the way his Uncle had. Peter doesn’t really understand what what his Uncle was doing to him but it made him scared and he didn’t like it so he had no trust for his Uncle. Not anymore, not ever.

But the way Tony was looking at him was like Peter was Tony’s whole world. Peter knew that Tony wasn’t actually thinking that because why would he to a kid he just met but the look was familiar. Peter doesn’t remember his parents very well considering that they died when he was only four years old but what he does remember was the way his mommy would look at him when he would sit on her lap. He remembers how much love his mommy had for him and how much it looked liked she genuinely cared for him. 

A way that no one looked at Peter like until right now. Until Peter was looking at Tony looking at him like his mommy used to when he would sit on her lap. 

Tony put his hands on Peter’s hips to steady him as he wobbled back and forth with still no answer “Kid, what’s wrong?”

Peter seemed to snap out of whatever gaze he was in and tried to answer Tony “I just-I d-didn’t mean to pee in the b-bed! I don’t-don’t know w-w-Why you’re not m-m-mad at m-me” 

Tony tightened the hold on Peter and brought him closer to himself but Peter was still standing between his legs. Tony made sure that Peter was looking at him in the eyes before speaking “Peter, I want you to know that I would never ever be mad at you for something like this” 

That only made Peter cry harder because he wished he could have that. Instead he had a Uncle who would yell at him. 

“My-my U-Uncle yells at m-me when I w-wet the bed” Peter explained “He makes me take o-off my pyjamas a-and then take the wet sheets o-off my bed” 

Tony paled at what Peter just said. He didn’t understand how someone could be so horrible towards a kid who had just done something out of their control and just wants comfort. 

“I’m so sorry, Peter” Tony said because he didn’t know what else to say to Peter. He wasn’t prepared for ever having a conversation with someone like this never mind a nine year old child. 

Tony lifted Peter into his arms and settled Peter so he was sitting on one of his knees with his small arms wrapped around Tony’s neck. 

Peter actually sighed like a tiny baby when Tony picked him up and it made Tony smile. 

He rubbed Peter’s back and held the kid until he felt Peter’s head slowly fall against his shoulder. That was a good enough sigh to Tony that Peter had fallen asleep. 

Tony put one hand under Peter to support him and one hand on his back as he stood up and gently placed Peter back in his clean bed with his clean pyjamas. 

He took longer than necessary to do that just taking in Peter’s baby face and how small he looked when he was asleep. 

Tony gently brushed the curls back from Peter’s forehead and was about to plant a kiss there but he decided against it. He stood up and was about to leave the room but he turned around when he heard his name being called. 

“Wait ‘ony?” Peter said and Tony saw that he had a hand reaching out for him. 

Tony walked back to the bed and reached out so he could grab Peter’s tiny hand in his. 

“What is it, bud?” 

Peter whimpered and it broke Tony’s heart “P’ease don’ go”

Tony sat down on the edge of the bed with his hand still holding Peter’s “I have to, buddy. You have to go to sleep and so do I” 

Peter whimpered again and shook his head looking like he was about to cry again “P’ease. Just s’ay until I fall asleep. P’ease”

Tony couldn’t say no to that. Peter was looking at him with so much trust yet so much hurt at the same time. Without saying anything Tony rolled over Peter carful not to crush him and made himself comfortable on the other side of the bed.

Peter immediately rolled over so that he was closer to Tony. The body heat coming off of Tony was relaxing to Peter because it’s been a long time since he’s actually gotten a cuddle from someone like this. 

Peter had always been a very affectionate child. He loved getting attention from those he loved and he loved being carried and cuddled. He knew he was too old to be carried, at least that’s what his Uncle tells him, but he still loved it when Tony carried him and he wouldn’t complain about it. 

Peter relaxed against Tony’s warm side and let out a low whine. He wished Tony would wrap his arms around him and make him feel safe. He still felt safe right now but the monsters could still come out if the closet at any given time and snatch Peter up. 

Never mind all the monsters under the bed. Peter didn’t know if there where monsters under this bed at Tony’s house but under his bed at home the monsters were the meanest under the bed. 

Peter cuddled closer into Tony’s side and slowly let sleep take over his tired body. 

Once Tony was sure that Peter was asleep, he tried to untangle himself from Peter’s small body. Peter literally slept like an octopus and Tony had no idea how someone so tiny could have such a strong grip on him even in his sleep. 

Tony was able to pry Peter off of himself and once he did that he slowly stood back up and quietly left the bedroom. 

Tony debated if he should leave the bedroom door open or not but he eventually decided to leave it a crack open and leave the hallway light on just in case that Peter woke up and didn’t know where he was or if he wanted some light for comfort. 

When Tony walked back to his bedroom he found that Pepper was still awake. 

“Why are you still up?” Tony asked as he crawled into bed and face planted onto his soft pillow. He was exhausted but he knew he would have a hard time falling back to sleep. 

“I wanted to wait until you got back” Pepper explained “Is Peter Okay?”

Tony sighed and rolled over in the bed looking at Pepper with such sadness “He wet the bed again”

Pepper sighed sadly. 

Tony continued “I don’t- I don’t know why, I think he had a nightmare but I’m not sure”

“What do we do?” Pepper asked. Tony knew that she cared a lot for the boy even without admitting it. 

“That’s why he has the box of pull-ups at his apartment” Tony said. He didn’t really know why he said that or what he meant to do with that information. He just wanted to sleep and have a full day with Peter tomorrow doing whatever the boy wanted. 

“Do you think we-“ Pepper said but Tony groaned. 

“Please Pep, I’m exhausted can we just talk about this another time?” Tony moaned. 

Pepper sighed “Okay, you’re right. Let’s just go to bed”

The lamp was turned off and Pepper rolled over to sleep. 

Tony stayed in the same position now wanted to do anything but sleep. He wanted to help Peter but he didn’t really know how. 

Tony got no sleep that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m honestly looking really forward to writing the next chapter once I feel better but it will probably be up some time this weekend! 
> 
> I hope you guys like this one and as always ignore the end note under this...


	10. The calm before the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Exactly what the title saids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t except to have this up by today. I’m really really surprised I managed to do it because I haven’t written at ALL for a whole week and that’s the longest I haven’t written EVER and I never want to go that long without writing again because I love it so much but I got really sick and then I was sooooo busy I literally had no time. 
> 
> Anyways here it is!! It’s up a little late but I hope you guys like it:)))

Tony was sitting in the lab while he watched Peter concentrate on trying to hook up some wires together. 

It was completely safe because Tony was a responsible adult that did know what and what not children could play with. 

Tony was working on his own project but he got distracted when he started watching Peter. 

Peter who wasn’t even tall enough to reach the desk on his chair so Tony had to put on bunch of books under him. Tony was watching as Peter stuck his tongue out as he worked on trying to get the wires together. Tony would never admit it out loud but it was a very cute site to see. With Peter concentrating very hard. 

Tony wondered if this was how Peter was in school when he had a really hard math question and he wondered if any of his teachers noticed his cute way of dealing with difficult stuff. 

Tony was taken away from his thoughts when there was a knock on the door leading from the lab and the stairs and elevator that led to the rest of the floor. He and Peter both looked up to see Pepper smiling from the other side of the glass. She typed in the password and then the door opened and she walked in. 

“You boys have been down here for awhile,” Pepper said looking slightly angry but not wanting to show it for Peter “How about we go for a drive and get some food for dinner?”

Peter beamed up at that and quickly got off his chair and the books he was sitting on to run over to Pepper and grab her hand as he jumped up and down “Yeah! Yeah!”

Peter ran over to Tony and did the same to the man “Come! Let’s go, Tony!” Peter tried to pull Tony out of his chair but Tony stood up to make it easier for him. 

It was actually a good idea, Tony thought. That way they could all spend time together that wasn’t watching tv because it wasn’t quite nighttime yet and so it wasn’t time to watch a movie. 

“Sounds like a good idea” Tony said as he lifted Peter up by the underarms and put him on his hip. Peter giggled as he wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and his legs around Tony’s waist. 

Tony knew that Peter was most likely too big to be getting carried like this but he honestly did not care. It was surprising how much Tony actually likes to hold the kid like this. He’s never done it with any other child before so he wasn’t sure if it was just Peter that he liked holding like this or if it would work with other kids too, Tony guesses not. 

So even though Peter was probably too old to be carrying around like this Tony didn’t care and Peter definitely didn’t care either by the looks of how happy he was to be in Tony’s arms right now.

When they got onto Tony’s private floor he expected Peter to want to wiggle out of his arms to be put down but Peter actually leaned his head on Tony’s shoulder to get himself more comfortable. 

Knowing that he wasn’t gonna be putting Peter down anytime soon, Tony hoisted Peter up higher on his hip do he could hold him with one arm supporting Peter’s bottom as they walked out of the elevator. 

“Get your coats and shoes on because it’s a bit cold out” Pepper said as she left to get her stuff on. 

Peter looked at Tony with the cutest look “But I don’t need shoes because you’re gonna carry me, right?”

Tony’s heart melted at that because Peter was so pure and innocent and it was extremely cute almost every single thing that Peter does. 

“I can’t carry you the whole time, bud”

Peter titled his head to the side and looked at Tony confused like Tony just asked him a complex math problem. He stuck out his bottom lip and whined “Why not?”

“Because,” Tony gently placed Peter on the ground and didn’t miss when Peter let out a whine “You have to walk eventually”

“No!” Tony looked down at Peter thinking that he was mad but he was relived to see that Peter was smiling “I want you to carry me forever!”

“Forever?” Tony asked like it was the craziest thing he’s ever heard. He loved how Peter was so much like a child, because he was one but it was something so new to Tony and he loved it “Even when you’re ten years old?”

Peter nodded his head. They started making their way to Peter’s room to get his stuff. 

Tony pretended to think “Even when you’re fifteen years old?”

Peter laughed and nodded his head again really fast as he skipped to his room. 

“How about when you’re twenty?” Tony asked. He found it funny how Peter was finding this funny. 

“Yeah,” Peter laughed “Forever and ever and ever!”

“Wow! That’s a lot of ‘evers’” Tony laughed as he looked down at Peter’s curly head of hair. He wanted to reach out and run his fingers through it but he stopped himself before he did it. He was starting to realize that he has been wanting to do that a lot over the past few days and he really needed to stop that before things got weird. 

Tony didn’t want Peter not wanting Tony to touch him a certain way. Who knows what Peter’s Uncle really dud to him so it was scary to not know if he touched Peter in a certain area he would freak out. 

He didn’t want to come out and ask Peter that question but he knew he would find out eventually. Plus, Tony’s touched Peter’s hair a bunch of times and he was fine with it so he didn’t know why he was stopping himself now.

Tony was pulled out of thoughts when they reached Peter’s bedroom and Peter ran to get his shoes and a jacket. Tony was already wearing his shoes and he just grabbed a sweater that was hanging over the couch as they made their way back into the living room.

“You boys ready?” Pepper asked. 

Peter ran over and sat in front of the elevator to put his shoes on “No! I have to put my shoes on first!”

Tony looked at Pepper with a smile and she returned hers. It was really cute to see how Peter’s mind worked and how someone so young was. How an older person would just stand and put their shoes on as supposed to how Peter is just sitting on the ground being all extra just to get his shoes on. 

Tony liked it because he loved how Peter was so young and innocent and how it was like a breath of fresh air around the tower. 

“I’m all done!” Peter announced as if he was proud of putting on his shoes. 

“Let’s get going” Pepper said. 

Tony bent down and picked Peter up by his underarms and placed him back on his hip which caused Peter to giggle and hug his small arms around Tony’s neck. 

Peter was light enough for Tony to be able to hold Peter with one arm on his hip because Peter was really young but he was also really small for his age. Tony should probably weigh him because he was pretty sure Peter was at least ten pounds under weight for a normal nine year old boy. 

Tony didn’t mind that too much right now as he held Peter on his hip never wanting to let him go. 

“Now you carry me forever” Peter said with a smile at Tony. 

“And ever and ever” Tony replied. 

Tony looked over at Pepper and saw her smiling at the two with a proud look on her face one that Tony’s only seen on her ever since they met Peter. She caught Tony looking at her and then they both looked away shyly smiling. 

When the elevator doors opened they stepped out into Tony’s garage. He had most of his cars in here except from the ones at the compound but most of them were here at the tower. 

Tony still held Peter only because he didn’t make any move to try and get out of Tony’s arms. Tony did have to hoist him higher up in his arms because since he was holding Peter with one arm it was causing Peter to slowly slide down. 

“Is his car seat in the car already?” Pepper asked as she was looking around at all the cars that were there. She wanted Peter to be safe and it was a new thing for them to have to deal with someone so small that they still needed a car seat so she wanted to make sure that they didn’t accidentally forget about that very important thing. 

“Yeah,” Tony pointed to one of his black Audi’s “It’s in this car”

Pepper made her way over to the passenger seat and got in as Tony opened the back door gently dropping Peter down so that he could climb into the back seat. 

“Do you need help with the buckles?” Tony asked. He knew Peter could probably do it himself but he also knew that Peter loved it when he watched him struggle to do his car seat buckles up. 

Peter nodded his head “I need help”

“Alright,” Tony fake sighed “I guess I’ll help you”

It was easy to put the buckles on Peter so that he was safe but Tony pretended to struggle a bit so that Peter would laugh and it was worth it to hear Peter’s giggles. 

Tony was sure it was his new favourite sound. Ever and ever. 

Once Peter was safely buckled in and Tony was in the drivers seat he started the car and started to drive away. 

“Where are we headed to?” Tony asked. He didn’t mind driving until it was night time because he felt like he had everything in this car right now. He felt like he had everything he ever wanted but that thought scared him because when you have something you want right there in your hands it can be easily be taken away from him. 

“What do you wanna eat, Peter?” Pepper leaned over the seat to look back at Peter and ask. 

Tony looked in the review mirror to watch as Peter acted like he was thinking about it. 

“I want McDonald’s!” Peter yelled excitedly. He threw his arms up in the air to extent his excitement and it made both Tony and Pepper laugh. 

“Alright then, McDonald’s it is” Tony said.

After they got McDonald’s with Peter getting a happy meal and an Iron Man toy, he didn’t get one at first and he made a scene in the backseat so Tony embarrassingly had to ask for one. He drove away really fast as they handed him the toy because he didn’t want to be there anymore having to ask for a child toy of himself. 

Tony started driving with Peter chatting about his Iron Man toy and how he doesn’t have this one at his apartment but he has other ones and how he loves lucky charms but he takes the marshmallows out so that he can eat those after like a dessert after breakfast. 

They were driving for about thirty minutes when they came across a lake at the end of a road. Tony drove up to it slowly and thankfully there were no people there. 

It was starting to get dark out meaning it was also getting colder so they couldn’t stay long but maybe they could walk around a bit. 

“Wanna go walk around?” Tony asked leaning back in the car to look at Peter. 

Peter had food all over his face and his shirt that Tony smiled at and then Peter nodded his head already trying to get out of his car seat. Tony made a mental note that Peter did not know how to get out as to not accidentally leave him in there. 

“Have you ever been here before?” Pepper asked Tony as she was getting out of the car. 

Tony shook his head “Nope. We just sorta found it”

Tony stood up and a few fries fell off of him. He ate a burger his fries and most of Peppers fries when she wasn’t looking. He thought that he honestly looked almost as messy as Peter did. And Peter had an excuse to look messy because he was a child. 

Tony opened the back door for Peter and helped him get out. He didn’t pick him up because he kinda wanted to let Peter go and walk as he watched him with a close eye. 

Peter stayed close to Tony to Tony’s surprise. He thought that the kid would go running ahead but that didn’t happen. He stayed almost right beside Tony as if he was silently asking to be picked up again. 

Pepper also stayed close to Tony’s side as if Tony was the only one with warmth and Peter and Pepper were freezing cold. Tony didn’t mind though, he actually liked it. 

They were walking in silence for a few minutes as they made their way down closer to the water. It was actually really cold so they definitely wouldn’t be staying out there long but it was really nice. 

“This would be nice in the summer” Pepper mentioned. She looked down at Peter and smiled as Peter leaned against Tony’s stomach with his back. 

“Or the actual beach in Miami would be nice” Tony said and then stopped himself. He didn’t know why he was thinking as if he would actually be able to take Peter to freaking Miami with him. He knew after this weekend he probably would never see Peter ever again unless it was a few hello goodbye type thing. 

As much as that hurt Tony to think he knew it was the best thing that could happen. He wasn’t the right person to be around an impressionable child. It was just nice while it lasted. 

Peter broke Tony out of his thought by tapping him on the stomach. Tony looked down to see Peter rehabbing his arms up sling to be picked up in the universal language that everyone knows for hold me. 

Tony let himself give in as he reached down to pick Peter up by his underarms and place him on his hip like it was the most normal thing for Tony to do.

Without any words exchanged between the two Peter put his head on Tony’s shoulder and let his body relax in the mans arms. 

Tony looked to Pepper and they both could tell they were thinking the same thing so they started walking back towards the car. Tony started patting Peters back as a form of comfort but he didn’t even know he was doing it. 

It was almost pitch black and and there were no lights on because the lake was kinda in the middle of nowhere but it was really relaxing and nice. 

They got back to the car and just as Tony was about to put Peter down to help him into his car seat Peter put his arms around Tony’s neck and held him tight “Don’t let me go”

Tony heard the pain in Peter’s voice like he was talking more about just letting him down into his car seat. Tony didn’t really know what to say to that so he just opened the back door and put Peter in his car seat. 

“I’m just gonna be in the front, buddy.” Tony explained “I’m not leaving you” 

Peter looked like he didn’t want to let Tony go but he nodded his head with a yawn anyways. 

The car ride back to the tower was spent in silence asides from Peter mentioning random stuff a few times as if just to make sure Tony was still there. Tony knew that Peter was for some reason fighting sleep. He didn’t know why but he had his ideas. 

When they got back to the tower Peter had managed to stay up but he was quickly falling asleep in the back seat. 

Pepper got out and so did Tony but Tony had to go get Peter so he opened the back door and Peter immediately held out his arms for Tony to pick him up so when Peter was unbuckled Tony picked him up and placed him on his hip once again. 

They made their way upstairs and it was past 9pm so meaning it was past Peter’s bedtime and he was gonna be going back to school tomorrow so there was that. 

Tony didn’t want to think about that right now. Right now he had to get Peter ready for bed so he could sleep until he had to woken up early to go to school tomorrow morning. 

“I’m gonna go do some work” Pepper mentioned once they got to their private floor “Goodnight, honey”

Pepper kisses Peter on the forehead from where he was in Tony’s arms with his head rested on Tony’s shoulder. 

Peter waved to her tirelessly. 

“I’m gonna go down to my lab after I get him washed up and changed” Tony said as he was already walking with Peter to his bedroom. 

Tony went into the bathroom and placed Peter on the toilet seat. He made sure that Peter wasn’t gonna tumble over before he went to start a bath. 

Tony didn’t fill the water up too high because it was just gonna be a quick rinse and wash to make sure that Peter was clean for his day at school tomorrow. 

Once the bath was full enough Tony turned back to Peter “Come here, bud. I know you’re tired but you have to get clean”

Tony was kneeling next to the bath as Peter walked over to him. Tony knew he was tired so he was gonna do this as quickly as possible. 

Peter walked over to Tony and Tony went to go unbuckle Peter’s pants to help take them off but Peter opened his eyes really quickly like he was no longer tired and backed away from Tony. 

“No! D-don’t! I don’t wanna!” Peter screamed with wide eyes as he backed away from Tony and his arms out as if he was trying to defend himself. 

Tony immediately regretted what he did. He felt sick. He knew why Peter had that reaction and he hated how he was the one to give Peter a flashback to what his Uncle must have done to him. Tony felt sick. 

He held up his hands to show Peter that he wasn’t gonna hurt him. “Peter, I’m sorry. I’m not gonna hurt you, I promise”

Tony moved closer to Peter a bit but Peter backed away again. 

Tony stopped moving and just sat there. Peter looked so small tucked into the corner that he backed himself into probably thinking that Tony was gonna so something to him. 

Tony tried again “Peter, buddy. I promise I wasn’t gonna hurt you. I was trying to help you so you could get in the bath. See...”

Tony put his hand in the water to show Peter “Can I help you now. You know I won’t hurt you, buddy. I’d never hurt you”

Peter slowly nodded his head and moved closer to slowly bit by bit. Tony wanted to just reach out and grab him but he knew he had to let Peter come to him now. 

Once Peter was close enough to Tony, he stood there with his pants half unbuckled and him looking at Tony with a weird look that Tony didn’t know what it meant. 

“Can I help you undress now? If you don’t want me to I can-“

Tony was cut off by Peter “No! Stay! H-help me”

The words meant something more to Tony but he helped Peter anyways. Tony was carful as he helped Peter get undressed not to touch anywhere close to anything that might cause Peter to freak out. 

Tony stayed as Peter quickly washed himself in the bath then Tony helped him out and wrapped him in a big brown fluffy blanket that reminded Tony of Peter’s hair. He wanted to say that to Peter but Peter didn’t seem in the mood for anything. 

Back in the bedroom, Tony wasn’t sure if Peter would want him to help him again but when Peter was making no move to do anything and was looking at Tony waiting for him to do something, Tony grabbed Peter’s clean pyjamas and sat on the edge of the bed. 

Peter seemed to know the routine as he stood in front of Tony and let the man help him into his pyjamas. 

Once that was done and Peter’s teeth were brushed with some fight because he still didn’t have his favourite toothpaste but it didn’t seem like he really cared that much asides from the slight face of nastiness while he brushed them. 

Tony waited for Peter on his bed and pulled back the blankets for him to climb in. Once Peter was lying down Tony pulled the blankets up and lied next to him outside of the blankets on his side with his hand holding up his head. 

“You have school tomorrow, buddy” Tony mentioned. 

Peter just looked at him with that same weird look on his face and Tony couldn’t tell if it was because he was over tired or because he almost thought that Tony was gonna hurt him. 

Peter nodded his head and then rolled over in the bed to face Tony. He reached his arms out of the blankets and grabbed Tony’s shirt. 

Peter looked at Tony with wide sad eyes “Can you stay until I fall asleep?”

Tony wasn’t expecting to stay. He wouldn’t say no though. 

“Sure, buddy”

Peter looked up at Tony sadly again “But-But don’t leave me”

Tony was about to put his arm around Peter to offer comfort but he stopped himself. It wasn’t his place to- oh screw it. 

Tony put his arm around Peter and Peter immediately leaned into Tony more so that his head was by his chest. 

“I promise I won’t leave you” Tony promised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I never knew if I wanted peter to call tony ‘tony’ or ‘mr. stark’ and that’s why I took so long for peter to actually call tony by his name ( I think he did it in the last chapter for the first time but I forgot about it so I’m explaining it now) but I decided to go with tony first because I wanted to be different and show just how much peter likes and trusts tony and how he doesn’t see him as an adult like a teacher but a friend


	11. How are you gonna love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really love how this turned out and I hope you guys do too:))

Tony didn’t sleep that night. 

He was too busy thinking about Peter and how he would be leaving the next day. It was fun while it lasted but all good things must come to an end eventually. Even if that good thing was the best thing ever and everything felt right and exactly the way it was supposed to be.

Tony tried not to think about that right now and that’s why he didn’t sleep. He did try to at least get in a few hours but every time he tried to close his eyes he just kept thinking about how Peter was gonna be gone the next day and that he was gonna be going back to his Uncle that treated him very badly and Tony didn’t know what to do about that. 

Tony spent the rest of the night in his lab just working on random things not really being able to put his mind to one thing right now. 

Pepper didn’t really get any sleep at all but not because her mind was keeping her up but because she was busy doing things for work and for Peter. 

She came into the lab at some point in the night to let Tony know that she was doing Peter’s laundry. Tony paid her no attention and went back to what he was working on before she came down. 

At about 5:45am Tony left the lab. He had a huge headache and he needed to get some air that wasn’t gas and oil. 

Tony wandered into the kitchen to make himself a coffee and then went into the kitchen where he found Pepper folding clothes. 

“Long night?” Pepper asked Tony as she folded what looked like one of Peter’s pants. 

Tony nodded and sat next to the clean pile of clothes that was lying on the ottoman. He took a giant sip of his coffee that burnt his throat before speaking “Couldn’t sleep”

Pepper just hummed as she continued to fold the clothes. Tony sat there for a few seconds before he decided to help out so he placed his coffee on the table and picked up a pile of clothes and began folding them. 

“I don’t want him to leave, Pep” Tony said quietly after a few minutes of them folding in silence. Tony stopped folding and looked up at Pepper to meet her eyes. She also stopped folding and now they were both staring at each other. 

Pepper sat down next to Tony on the ottoman and looked at him “Tony, it was nice having him but he has to go back to his Aunt and his Uncle. You know that”

“Yeah, of course I know that but-“ Tony thought for a minute. Should he actually say to Pepper what he’s been thinking this whole time “But what if he doesn’t. What if he stays here. With us”

Pepper sighed and continued to fold Peter’s pants before picking back up some more “You know we can’t”

Tony wanted to throw something. He wanted to scream and punch Peter’s Uncle in the face so hard that he’d be unrecognizable because he hated what was happening to this pure innocent child. He wanted to do something. 

Tony didn’t say anything else because he knew he was wrong for actually bringing it up to Pepper in the first place. He knew he was ridiculous for actually thinking that he could have Peter stay with them to begin with. 

Tony held up one of Peter’s pyjama pants and showed Pepper. She looked up and smiled at them “They’re so tiny” Tony said. 

Pepper nodded “He is very tiny”

Tony felt his heart break as he folded Peter’s clothes because the thing was was that he could get used to this. He could get used to folding tiny pieces of clothing and taking care of Peter. 

After everything was folded and Tony felt his heart sink into his stomach he stood up to go wake Peter up. It was still kinda early but Tony was being selfish and he wanted to spend more time with Peter. 

Once inside of Peter’s room, Tony sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Peter. He was sleeping with his arms above his head with his cheeks red and rosy. His hair was extra curly and Tony noticed that in the mornings Peter’s hair was always extra crazy. 

Tony moved to put his hand on Peter’s shoulder to gently wake him up “Pete, it’s time to wake up buddy” 

Peter didn’t wake up so Tony tried again “Peter, wake up, bud”

Peter moved his arms so that they covered his face and then he stretched. Tony smiled because Peter looked like a little kitten waking up. 

When Peter opened his eyes they landed on Tony and he smiled. Tony smiled back at him “Hey sleepy head”

Peter rolled over in the bed so that his face was buried in his blankets as he tried to cover himself up again. Tony laughed and tried to pull the blankets back but Peter stopped him.

“It’s time to go to school, bud” Tony saw the way Peter’s face scrunched up in his sleepy state. He wished he could keep Peter at the tower so they could spend more time in the lab together and watching movies or just hanging out but Tony knew he couldn’t do that. 

Peter stretched before sitting up in bed and rubbing his eyes. It made him look even younger for his age if that was even possible Tony thought. 

“Okay...” Peter mumbled out. He moved the blankets back and moved his legs so he could get out of the bed. 

Tony stood up as well “Go get ready and then come down for some breakfast” 

Peter walked into the bathroom looking like he was drunk from just rising from his sleep. Tony smiled at the sight before stepping out of Peter’s room and going down to the kitchen to make some pancakes for Peter. 

Tony started to get all the ingredients out that are needed to make pancakes. He doesn’t remember ever knowing how to make them just from muscle memory alone before Peter came along. It was something knew to him just like everything with Peter is and he liked it. 

Tony was flipping the pancakes onto the pan when he heard socked feet making their way into the kitchen. He looked up and saw Peter climbing onto the kitchen island stools. 

“Did you sleep good?” Tony asked now that he could have a proper conversation with Peter that he’s more awake. 

“Yeah,” Peter yawned “When are you gonna get me my cherry toothpaste?”

Tony stopped for a second. He completely forgot about getting that for Peter. Now it was too late because he would be going home after school. That hurt Tony to think and he didn’t really know what to say to Peter. 

Tony avoided Peter’s eyes as he spoke “I don’t know, kid. Are you ready for school?”

Tony tried to change the subject and thankfully Peter didn’t catch onto that “I was waiting for you to pick out my clothes”

Tony smiled at that. He found it adorable how Peter still needed someone to pick out his clothes for him “I’ll do that right after breakfast. At least you get to eat your pancakes in your comfy pyjamas”

Peter beamed at that and started bouncing in his chair “Yeah! And they’re my favourite pyjamas of all times!”

“Oh I bet! They look really comfortable” Tony said before turning back to the pan and putting a pancake on a plate. 

Tony tried to get Peter to eat all of his pancakes but he only managed to eat one and a half which Tony was happy about. He just wanted Peter’s weight to be more appropriate for his age. Tony understood that Peter was definitely small for his age but he was still under weight and it didn’t look like his Aunt and Uncle cared very much about it. 

After breakfast was done Tony helped Peter pick out his clothes for the day and helped him get dressed when Pepper walked in. 

She bent down so that she was at Peter’s height “It was so nice having you, Peter. Have a good day at school today” 

Peter smiled at Pepper and then lifted his arms up so that Tony could help him put his shirt on then sitting on the ground and putting his socks and shoes on. 

Tony stood up from the edge of the bed and walked over to Pepper with a sad look on his face. He really didn’t want to see Peter gone. 

“Did he have any accidents last night?” Pepper asked quietly so Peter couldn’t hear. He eyes landed on the bed and then Peter then looking up at Tony. 

Tony completely forgot about that. He wasn’t woken up by FRIDAY letting him know that Peter wet the bed and Peter never said anything to I’m so he just assumed that Peter stayed dry all night. 

“Oh, I don’t think he did” Tony said. He looked at Peter on the floor trying to get his socks on and smiled at the concentration on his face. 

“That’s good” Pepper smiled and then she leaned in to kiss Tony on the cheek “I know it’s gonna be hard but it’s for the best”

Pepper pulled away and Tony avoided her eyes. He didn’t want to talk about that right now. 

.  
.  
.

Tony and Peter were in the car driving to Peter’s school. 

Peter had his bag packed with his now clean clothes and his backpack in the back seat next to him. Peter was talking away to Tony about his car and how much Peter loved it then he started talking about his favourite ice cream. 

Tony smiled and listened to Peter chatting away. It was nice to have had woken Peter up extra early to spend some extra time with him. It wasn’t nearly enough time though because Tony still felt like he wasn’t ready to give Peter back to his Aunt and Uncle just yet... or ever. 

They pulled up to the front of the school only being twenty minutes late. This time however, Tony was late on purpose just so he could avoid the chaos of having to drop Peter off when all the other children were getting dropped off. 

“I don’t wanna go to school” Peter pouted when Tony turned off the car and looked in the review mirror to see a pout on Peter’s face and his arms crossed. 

Tony sighed. Me neither, kid. “I know, bud. But we had fun and now it’s time to do the boring part of life”

Peter stuck out his bottom lip more “I wanna have fun all day and I’m gonna miss you all day”

Tony smiled. He felt his heart sink a little. When Tony stepped out of the car and opened the back door to help get Peter out of his car seat he wanted nothing more than to just turn around and drive away with Peter. 

Peter kept his arms over the straps on his car seat so that Tony couldn’t undo them. Peter was laughing as Tony was doing it which caused Tony to move his hands to Peter’s armpits to tickle him and since Peter couldn’t move because he was strapped down Tony was winning. 

“Alright, buddy. No more tickles, move your arms so we can get you out” Tony said. Peter shook his head and the pout returned. 

Tony didn’t have to use much strength to use one hand to remove Peter’s arms from the buckles so he could get Peter out. Peter’s face turned serious and he was no longer laughing. 

“I don’t wanna go” Peter whined. He stepped out of the car and grabbed onto Tony’s arm as he looked up at him. 

“I know, I know” Tony didn’t know what else to say than that. He didn’t want Peter to go either and it was really killing him to say goodbye “I don’t want you to go either”

“Then-then take me back with you and I don’t have to go to school then I can stay all day with you in your lab” Peter grabbed onto Tony’s arm harder but Tony ignored it as he reached into the back and pulled out Peters backpack. He was about to bring in Peter’s car seat and bag right now but he thought better of it and decided to drop Peter off first and then come back to get it. 

“I can’t do that, Peter. I know, I would love to take you back so we can build stuff in the lab together and watch a movie but I just can’t” Tony explained. He had bent down so he could be at Peter’s height. Peter’s bottom lip was still sticking out in a pout. 

Tony stood back up and threw Peter’s backpack around his shoulder as he took Peter’s small hand in his and started to cross the parking lot into the school. Peter was reluctantly walking into the school as he pulled back on Tony’s hand but he kept walking either way. 

Once inside the school Tony searched for the office and led Peter over there to drop him off. 

Tony walked in and stopped at the receptionists desk “I’m here to drop off Peter Parker”

The receptionist looked up at Tony and smiled sliding over a piece of paper on the desk “Just sign here please”

Tony signed the paper and then turned to Peter bending down so he was at his height. He held him by his arms as he talked to him “I’m gonna leave now, Peter. I had so much fun with you this weekend and I hope I can have you over again”

Peter’s face dropped as the realization hit him “Wait! Are-are you not gonna pick me up after school and take me home with you?”

Tony looked at Peter’s panicked face. He thought that Peter knew what was happening. Tony and Pepper explained to him that Monday after school his Uncle would be picking him up. Maybe Peter didn’t understand what was happening. 

“No, buddy. We told you that” Tony explained “Your Uncle is gonna pick you up after school-“

Peter’s face scrunched up and he grabbed onto Tony’s arm in fear “No! No! I want you to take me home with you!”

Tony shook his head and was about to speak but Peter cut him off “I wan’ you! I wanna go home with you again and-and build stuff in your lab and... I wanna go home with you!”

Tony looked up at everyone in the office who was now looking at the pair on the floor as Peter screamed bloody murder. Tony ignored the looks they were getting and focused his attention back on the screaming child in front of him. 

“I want you to too, Peter, but we talked about this. I can’t take you back home with me” It pained Tony to say that. 

“Please! Please! I wanna-I wanna stay with you” Peter begged “Please!”

Peter crumbled to the floor in front of Tony and was now crying. He had tears pouring out of his eyes and was sobbing on the ground. Tony had no idea what to do. He had never been in a situation like this before and he was at lost with what to do. He felt like everything was happening all too fast yet all too slow at the same time. 

Peter was on the floor sobbing while he begged Tony to take him home but Tony couldn’t do that. 

Peter reached an arm up to Tony and tried to grab into his hand which Tony grabbed onto. 

“Please, please don’t leave me” Peter said quietly looking up at Tony with so much trust and sadness in his eyes it made Tony feel like his heart stopped beating from that look. 

Tony just stared at Peter for a few seconds “I can’t”

At that Peter let go of Tony’s hand and rolled away from him on the floor curling into a ball and cried loudly. 

Tony stood up in shock and felt like the whole world was spinning. He looked at Peter as he backed up and then looked at the people in the office who were staring at Tony with a look that Tony got whenever he talked to Pepper about not wanting Peter to leave. 

Tony had no idea what to do. He hated having to deal with emotions like this and this was something so new to him that he had no idea what to do. 

Tony stepped towards the door but Peter peeked an eye out and saw him about to leave so he stood up on wobbly legs and started making his way over towards Tony with raised arms demanding to be picked up. 

Tony wanted nothing more than to pick Peter up right now but he knew that if he did he would never be able to let go. 

“Don’ leave. Please. Please!” Peter begged still with raised arms. 

“I’m sorry, Peter, but I have to” Tony broke out. 

“No! N-no!” Peter tried to reach up to Tony desperately and getting annoyed when Tony didn’t pick him up. 

Tony silently motioned for someone to come and grab Peter from him and then one of the women came over and picked Peter up from behind which made Peter freak out and start kicking and screaming. Another women came over to come help grab Peter while Peter kicked and screamed. 

Peter reached out to Tony but Tony didn’t reach back. Tony saw the look of betrayal on Peter’s face “You promised me! You promised you’d-you’d protect me!”

Tony’s heart broke. He felt his breathing get faster and faster and he just knew that he had to get out of there. 

Tony pushed through the doors as he heard a loud scream escape Peter that he knew would haunt him for the rest of his life. Tony walked out of the school as fast as he could. He didn’t know if he was walking really slow or running because time appeared to be frozen. 

Once Tony made it to his car he got in the drivers seat and started it getting ready to pull away but just as he was about to do so he stopped. 

He tried to catch his breath but he found he was unable to do so. The breath felt like it was leaving his body but nothing was coming in which made it harder and harder to breathe for Tony. 

Tony felt his vision get cloudy and he thought he was about to pass out but then a sudden wave hit him and he sucked in a breath of air and his vision cleared. 

Tony looked back up at the school where Peter was and he turned off his car. 

He couldn’t leave. He couldn’t leave like this. It wasn’t fair to Peter. He needed to get Peter back. 

Tony shoved his hands on the steering wheel so hard that it beeped “Fuck!”

Tony suddenly knew what he had to do. 

He stepped out of the car and slammed the door making his way back into the school and into the office. 

Tony heard Peter’s cries before he saw him. When he walked into the office again everyone froze and looked at him except for Peter. Tony stepped towards Peter and saw him lying on the ground as he cried his lungs out. 

Tony stepped over to him and bent down. He gently tapped Peter on the side but Peter didn’t even recognize that Tony was there. 

“Peter, I’m here, bud” Tony said “Come here”

Peter continued to cry but slightly looked up at Tony. Before Peter even had anytime to process that Tony was there he was being scooped up into Tony’s arms. 

Tony stood with Peter in his arms l and held him close. He held Peter with one arm under his butt and the other one on his back to support him. 

Peter pulled his head away from Tony and looking at him to make sure it was actually Tony before crying harder and shoving his face into Tony’s neck and wrapping his legs around Tony’s waist and his arms around his neck as to never let go again and Tony was okay with that because he didn’t wanna ever let go now. 

Tony walked out of the office without saying anything. He held Peter in his arms exactly where he was supposed to be. 

“You came back f-for me” Peter whispered into Tony’s ear. 

“Yeah, I did. I’m never gonna leave you, Peter” Tony said quietly back just so Peter could hear him. 

“Thank you” Peter said. 

Tony carried Peter out of the school and back to the car. 

He didn’t care what he couldn’t do even if that was the fact that he couldn’t take Peter back home with him, he was gonna do it anyways. 

Tony knew what he had to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what’s so weird to me like if I died then you guys would never know and all these stories would just be unfinished and that’s so scary to think of because you’d be waiting for me to come back but I never will. Anyways sorry for that I was just thinking about it
> 
> I hope you guys liked this and please leave a comment because I love love love to read them:)) 
> 
> Remember ignore the end note under this because idk how to get rid of it


	12. The future that we hold is so unclear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said I’m posting this on Saturday:) I actually almost forgot to post it because I went dirt bike riding today and now I’m exhausted so I’m about to go to bed but I remembered I have to post for you guys:)) 
> 
> I hope you like it

Peter clung onto Tony like his life depended on it as Tony carried him back to the car. 

Tony ignored all the looks he was given as he carried Peter out of the school and across the parking lot to get to the car. 

The hand that wasn’t holding Peter’s bottom for support, Tony had been rubbing Peter’s back in a calming way to try and get Peter to stop crying because Tony felt his shoulder get wet with tears and snot. He didn’t really care about that though but he was more concerned at the fact that Peter was clearly in distress and Tony wanted to try and calm him down more before things got too out of control. 

If Tony was being honest he expected someone to come running out of the school to try and take Peter away from Tony because he was sure that he wasn’t allowed to just be taking Peter out of the school without any permission from Peter’s guardians. Tony guessed that no one actually wanted to come out and deal with Tony Stark. No matter what the reason was. 

Tony opened his car door and sat down in the drivers seat with Peter in his lap. Peter still clung to his neck like he was gonna get taken away again if he let go and Tony didn’t blame him. He understood how hard it would be for someone Peter’s age to be going through what he’s going through right now. 

To be getting sexually abused at home by the people that you are supposed to trust the most and to them be spending the weekend with Tony Stark but now being dropped off at school and told that you basically have to go back home and get sexually assaulted again. Tony saw red just thinking of it. 

Tony continued to rub Peters back gently trying to get him to calm down and then tried to speak to him “Hey, Pete, it’s okay, buddy. It’s me. It’s Tony”

Peter relaxed a bit but he still held onto Tony and didn’t remove his arms from Tony’s neck. If Tony really wanted to then he could easily remove Peter’s arms from around him but he didn’t want to do that. He wanted to hold Peter if that’s what will calm Peter down. 

“It’s okay” Tony said softly “I’m here now, Peter. You’re not going anywhere you don’t wanna go”

A few minutes of Tony softly whispering reassurances into Peter’s ear, Peter slowly removed his arms from around Tony’s neck and looked around as if he was checking who was there to take him away before looking at Tony’s eyes. 

“I want to go home with you” Peter said so quietly that Tony had to strain his ears to even hear Peter.

Tony wanted that more than anything as well. He knew he wasn’t allowed to just take Peter home with him again and he could get charged with child kidnapping if his Aunt or Uncle called the police or the school called them or even the police themselves but Tony had already pulled Peter from school before he even got to class so he wasn’t scared if that happened. 

“If that’s what you want then that’s what’ll happen” Tony stood up with Peter still in his arms. Peter nodded his head and laid it on Tony’s shoulder. 

“That’s what I want” Peter said but it was mumbled because his whole face was pressed into Tony’s shoulder. 

Tony held Peter with on arm and opened the back door of the car. He placed Peter on the ground but Peter tried to reach up for him again “No, bud. You’re just getting in your car seat then we’re going back to the tower” 

Peter put his raised arms down. A pout formed on his face but Tony ignored it as he gently pushed Peter so he was sitting in his car seat and did the buckles up for him because Peter just sat there. 

Tony shut the back door, got into the drivers seat and started the car before pulling out of the school parking lot. He glanced in the review mirror and saw that Peter was looking out the window sadly. Tony wanted to wipe that look of if the kids face because it pained him to watch Peter in pain. Especially mental pain such as sadness how Peter was feeling because that was harder to deal with and involved a lot more emotions. 

About ten minutes into the drive Tony was surprised to hear Peter talk “Am I gonna go back to live with Aunt May and Uncle Ben now?”

The innocence of the question had Tony smile a bit but it was a sad smile. Tony wish he could answer that “What do you want to do?”

Peter seemed surprised at the question. Tony saw him try to think about what he really wanted and Tony could only imagine how hard that question would be to have to answer at only nine years old. Peter thought about it for about a minute and then looked down at his lap. The thing is that Peter doesn’t even know what he wants. He thinks he does but then his guilt and fear gets in the way of things and his answer is changed to something that his mind is trying to tell him he wants. But he does know what he wants before all the guilt and fear comes to change his mind. 

Peter knows what he wants. He just isn’t sure he wants to admit it out loud to anyone in case he gets in huge trouble because he knows he would definitely be in big trouble if his Auntie or Uncle found out. 

Peter made eye contact in the mirror with Tony and then looked back down at his lap “I want- I want to live with you”

The answer had Tony almost crash the car. He felt his heart drop into his stomach and he tried to calm his breathing before Peter thought that he was gonna get in trouble because the look on the kids face right now was hurting him. 

Tony was happy to hear that from Peter but he was also really scared at that. He didn’t realize how much of an impact he had on Peter in the past few days. Well, he knew Peter for a few days but it seemed that Peter knew him and looked up to him as Iron Man his whole life. 

Tony wanted to know why Peter wanted that “Why do you want to live with me, Peter?”

Peter looked down at his lap again “Because-because I never feel as happy at home as I did when you where taking care of me”

Tony’s heart melted at that. It was such a scary thought to know that Peter put all of his trust into himself like that and he was terrified at what that would lead to later on. 

“Oh bud” Tony said sadly. He wanted to reassure Peter that everything would be okay but Tony wasn’t even sure what that meant. He didn’t know what would be okay for Peter. 

“I don’t like what Uncle Ben does to me” Peter said so quietly that Tony wasn’t even sure if Peter said anything at all. Tony did hear it though. He heard what Peter said and Peter wouldn’t have said it if he didn’t trust Tony or if he wasn’t trying to reach out for help. 

“What does he do that you don’t like?” Tony asked. He knew that Peter was getting sexually assaulted by his Uncle but he didn’t know exactly what was happening. 

Tony looked in the review mirror and saw Peter shrug his shoulders “I don’t know. Just... bad stuff. That I don’t like. I tell him to s-stop but he doesn’t”

Tony tried to focus on not crashing the car because he felt like he was going to. His knuckles turned white because he was holding the steering wheel so tightly. He didn’t know if Peter actually didn’t understand because he was too young to understand what his Uncle was doing to him or just because Peter didn’t want to say it. 

Tony could have asked Peter more questions to make Peter tell him what his Uncle was doing to him but this was not the right place and time. Eventually he would have to ask Peter though, if Peter didn’t tell him himself. 

“That’s not right” Tony explained “If you don’t like something that someone is doing and you say ‘stop’ or ‘no’ then that person should stop. That’s not right that your Uncle isn’t listening to you”

Peter nodded his head but didn’t say anything else. Tony waited for about a minute for Peter to say something but he never did. 

Tony was about to continue the conversation but Peter spoke up “I’m tired”

“That’s fine, you can close your eyes and sleep were just going back to the tower” Tony said softy to Peter so Peter didn’t think that Tony was gonna take him anywhere else.

Peter then closed his eyes and let sleep take over his body. Tony kept glancing back at Peter in the back seat every so often to make sure that he was still sleeping the whole drive back to the tower. 

Tony was alone with his thoughts in the silent drive back to the tower. Usually he would listen to music either really loud or softly depending on the mood that he was in but there was always something playing just so wasn’t alone with his thoughts but now Tony didn’t wanna listen to ant music because Peter was still asleep and he didn’t want to wake the boy up but that meant that Tony had a lot of thinking to do. 

When they got back to the tower Tony parked the car in the garage and exited the car opening up the back door and seeing that Peter was still asleep. 

He debated if he should wake Peter up but Tony wanted to let the child sleep considering how exhausted he would be because of the emotional breakdown that he had just a few minutes earlier on. 

Tony made sure that Peter’s head didn’t fall to the side as he carefully unbuckled Peter from his car seat and lifted him into his arms. 

Peter’s head fell onto Tony’s shoulder and Tony had to slam the car door with his foot to close it since his arms were preoccupied. It still concerned Tony how light Peter was and how small he was for his age. Peter definitely should be a lot bigger and heavier than he is. Tony guessed that Peter looked at least like a seven year old child instead of a nine year old one but then again Tony didn’t really know anything about kids in general. 

Tony carried Peter into the elevator and up to his floor. He expected Peter to wake up when he got to his floor but Peter didn’t even budge. Tony walked to the room that Peter was staying in and carefully placed Peter on the bed then moving to take off his shoes so he would be more comfortable. 

The pants Peter was wearing didn’t look comfortable at all and Tony mentally debated with himself if he should change Peter while he was asleep but there was nothing to change Peter into and he didn’t wanna just leave Peter in his underwear so he decided to leave him how he is. 

Tony grabbed a blanket from the bed and covered Peter with it. He sat down on the edge of the bed by Peters head and lightly brushed his chocolate brown curls away from his forehead. 

Tony leaned down to press a kiss to Peter’s forehead without even really thinking about it and everything about it just felt so right. Over the weekend that Tony had Peter he noticed that he had been doing these things more and more without even thinking about it because it just felt so right.

Tony stood up and needed to find Pepper. 

When he left the room he made sure to make sure that it was dark enough for Peter to sleep without the light coming in but not too dark for it to scare Peter. 

Tony left the bedroom leaving the door a bit open and stepped into the hallway “FRIDAY, where’s Pepper?”

FRIDAY responded “Miss. Potts is in her office at the moment”

“Thanks FRI” Tony then started making his way to where Peppers office was. He tried to prepare himself for what he was gonna say to Pepper when he got in there but the walk didn’t feel long enough to have the time to come up with anything to say. 

When Tony eventually arrived at Peppers office he knocked on the door and then opened it without waiting for an answer. 

“Uh, Tony?” Pepper looked up from her computer screen looking surprised to see Tony. She looked like she was about to say something else but she must have noticed that Tony looked stressed, “Whats wrong?”

Tony didn’t know where to start. So much was wrong right now with everything but there was only one thing on his mind right now and he needed to say it. 

“I want to adopt Peter” Tony blurted out before he could even really think about how to word it or bring it up. Now it was out there and he couldn’t take it back. 

Pepper stopped. She narrowed her eyes at Tony as if she was trying to think if she heard him right or not but before she could even say anything Tony spoke again “I just, I don’t know, Pep, but everything feels so right with him as if, I don’t know, as if we were supposed to end up together or something” 

Tony stepped towards Pepper and tried to read her face but he couldn’t. He knew Pepper probably better than anyone in the entire world and he was pretty good at knowing what she was thinking half the time but not now. This face that she was making was unreadable. As if she just went completely blank and wasn’t thinking about anything at all. 

“Give me something” Tony practically begged. 

He knew he was crazy for even having a thought of wanting to adopt Peter or any child for that matter but it was just... it was just something about Peter and this whole situation. Everything just seemed to make sense when Tony was with Peter. As if all the stress and worries about life and the world just disappeared and it was as if Tony was with Peter, his son. 

Pepper seemed to get her mouth to start working again “Tony, I don’t-I don’t even know where to start”

Pepper shut her computer screen and sat back in her chair as Tony moved to sit on one of the chairs in front of her desk. Pepper spoke “This is a huge deal. Are you sure you even understand what you’re saying right now?”

Tony nodded his head “Yes. I thought about it. I just, Peter is living in a horrible home right now with his Aunt and Uncle that are treating horribly. His Uncle is fucking sexually assaulting him for fuck sake”

Tony paused and then continued “I really like Peter, he’s a great kid and I had a lot of fun with him this weekend but I wouldn’t even be thinking this or wanting to do it if he came from a loving family, but he doesn’t, Pep. He doesn’t have anybody in this world that loves him and I just... I just wanna be that person. To be there for him and love him and give him the proper childhood that he deserves”

Pepper took in everything that Tony was saying. She understood where he was coming from but there were other ways to do things “You can’t possibly make that kind of huge decision in three days. If not for your sake but for Peter’s. You want to adopt him now but what about a month from now or a year, what if you suddenly change your mind and decide that you don’t want Peter anymore”

Pepper looked at Tony softly and continued “You have to think about what’s best for Peter and are you really it? There are other options for Peter that I have actually been looking into because we need to do something about his Uncle”

Tony wanted to scream. He loved the women sitting in front of him more than anything but right now he wanted to punch her in the face because did she actually think that Tony couldn’t take care of a child “I’m not sending him back to his fucking Uncle! Who knows what he’s gonna do to him, he could fucking rape him for all I know! He could have already raped him, we don’t know anything about what actually happens and I’m not risking Peter going back with that sick bastard!”

Pepper sighed and Tony was losing all patience “Tony, there are other options. Peter can go into a foster home and then be put into a nice family-“

“No! No! No fucking way!” Tony practically screamed which made Pepper jump back so Tony lowered his voice “I’m not sending that kid into the system. I’m not gonna be responsible for that boy ending up in a foster home. I know how bad it is in there, full of perverts as well. What I take him away from a sexual predator and give him right to another one but this time he doesn’t have his own room and no family. No”

“That’s not true, Tony and you know it” Pepper glared “The foster system will help place Peter with a loving family for him-“

“Why can’t I be that family? Why can’t I adopt him? Why can’t we both just be happy for once?” Tony spoke but this time it was a lot more soft. Pepper knew the questions were rhetorical but she decided to talk about them anyways. 

“You aren’t happy right now?” Pepper asked concerned. 

Tony froze. Did he actually just admit that, “Right now?”

“In general”

Tony thought about it. He wasn’t depressed but he was necessarily... happy, “I don’t know. I guess I just feel like something is missing. Like I’m supposed to do something, it’s different with Peter though, things feel right, everything feels right when I’m with him like... like he’s what’s missing from my life”

Peppers face turned soft and she leaned forward in her chair and grabbed Tony’s hands from across the table “I wanna support you, Tony, I really do but I don’t think you know what you want”

Tony shook his head and pulled his hands away “I do. I do. For once in my life I feel like I’m actually sure of something like I know what I want and what I want is to adopt Peter. I realize that it isn’t gonna be easy and it’s probably gonna be the hardest thing I’ve ever done but I’m willing to do all that for him”

Pepper smiled proudly at Tony. Tony didn’t know if she was finally understanding what he was saying or if she still thought that Tony couldn’t do it. 

“I know you change your mind a lot and you’re never really sure about anything but you seem pretty sure about this” Pepper paused “And it will be hard. It will probably be impossible but for anyone else but you because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about you is that you don’t give up and when times get hard to keep pushing stronger” 

Tony smiled at her. He couldn’t believe that she was on the same page as him. Pepper smiled back and laughed “Just wait until the teenage years then we’ll see if you still want him”

Tony laughed back “By the times he’s a teen I’ll already have grown so attached to him that I’d never be able to get rid of him. It’s only been three days and I couldn’t even leave him at school”

Peppers face turned serious at what Tony said and she tried to see if Tony was joking or not “Tony-“

As if on cue FRIDAY cut in “Boss, Peter appears to have woken up and is in distress and is asking for you”

“Thanks FRI-“

“Tony!” Pepper screamed cutting Tony off “Why is Peter here?”

Tony stood up leaving no room for him to explain unless Pepper followed him which she did so Tony quickly explained while he made his way to Peter’s room “I dropped him off at school but he freaked out so bad, Pep. He was kicking a screaming and crying so hard so I just left but I couldn’t leave. I walked back into the school, picked him up and walked out with him and in the car he told me about his Uncle and that he wanted to live with me because basically no one loves him”

“That’s horrible, Tony. I just hope that his Aunt and Uncle hadn’t found out about this yet” Pepper was already thinking of ways to deal with this whole thing.

Tony turned to Pepper before walking into Peter’s room and smiled at her. 

He was so happy that he had her on his side and that they were gonna fight for Peter together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All the fics I subscribed to aren’t posting chapter updates and its making me really sad because I’m not getting any notifications and I just want to read them:(
> 
> I was just watching a documentary of women who have their babies behind bars in a jail and I got so emotional because I can’t even imagine how frustrating that would be. It is heartbreaking:( 
> 
> Anyways I hope you guys liked this and if you did please leave a comment because I would love to read it:))


	13. We all fall down

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My friend just got back from Florida today and she asked me to hang out and I wish I said yes but on weekends I literally just like to do nothing so hopefully I’ll hang out with her tomorrow. Also I’m really excited for this fic because I have an idea on where I want this to go and it’s all falling into place beautifully:)) alsooo idk if it’s just me but when I write I can’t just write for like 30 min I have to have an hour or more to actually sit down and write because once I get in the mood everything just flows perfectly but I haven’t been getting more than an hour at once to write so I hadn’t really had any time buttttt I did this weekend so I’m excited about that:)))
> 
> I hope you guys like this

Tony pushed open the door to Peter’s room with the light from the hallway making its way into the room and lighting it up. 

Tony walked into his room not really knowing if Pepper followed him in or not. Tony was more focused on Peter at the moment and making sure he’s okay. 

Tony walked into the room and saw Peter sitting up in the bed with the blanket that Tony had laid on him when he put him to bed now around his ankles in a tangle as if Peter had a bad dream so he moved around a lot. 

Tony walked over to Peter’s head and went to sit down on the edge. Tony saw that Pepper walked in as well and was sitting on the other side of the edge but near Peter’s feet. 

Peter was curled into a ball with his head resting on his knees as he poked an eye out at Tony. 

“Hey, bud” Tony said softly. He smiled when Peter slowly moved his hand out and tried to reach for Tony. 

Tony grabbed Peter’s smaller hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. He waited for Peter to talk but when Peter didn’t say anything he spoke up “Did you have a bad dream?”

Peter shook his head “I just- I just woke up and I didn’t know where I was but then I did and I missed you”

Tony smiled at him “I’m here, Pete. You’re at the tower”

Peter lifted his head up at Tony “I know that now”

Tony looked over at Pepper and laughed because this kid had some sass. Tony loved that. 

“So do you wanna go watch a movie or something?” Tony asked but Peter shrugged his shoulders. 

“I wet the bed” Peter admitted quietly. Tony saw his face flush a bit red at that but he was glad that Peter wasn’t freaking out over it or wasn’t too embarrassed to tell him. 

“Oh, it’s okay, bud. Accidents happen” Tony said to try and make Peter feel better because it definitely wasn’t his fault that this was happening. 

“Do you want Tony to help you while I clean this up?” Pepper asked and Peter looked over at her like it was the first time of him seeing her there. 

“Um, yeah. I guess” Peter looked down at his lap and Tony followed his gaze and saw the wet patch on the front of his pants and on the bed. Tony thought that if those pants weren’t uncomfortable before they definitely would be now. 

“Let’s get you cleaned up” Tony held his hands out for Peter to grab onto and help him out of the bed. Tony was carful not to push Peter too fast so he could move at the pace that Peter was comfortable moving. 

Once Peter was out of the bed Tony led him into the washroom before looking back and giving a sad smile to Pepper as she started to clean off the bed sheets. 

Inside the bathroom, Tony shut the door and grabbed a towel from inside the cabinet. Peter stood there awkwardly and uncomfortably as he waited for Tony to help him. 

Tony realized that Peter wasn’t making any move to get out of his dirty wet clothes so Tony sat on the toilet seat “Do you need help it can you do it on your own?”

Peter looked at his wet pants then back up at Tony again then back at his wet pants before speaking “I need help”

Tony motioned for Peter to walk towards him so he could undo his pants and tug them down along with his underwear and then moving to take his top off too. Tony led Peter into the shower where he then left him to wash up while Tony exited the bathroom. 

Pepper was finished with taking off the sheets and replacing it with new ones “How is he?” 

Tony sighed “He’s good. I think he’s used to this”

Pepper looked at Tony sadly “I think it’s time we get him some protection like some pull-ups at nighttime so he doesn’t have to wake up with wet pants every night”

Tony knew that it was long a matter of time since Peter would have to start wearing pull-ups with him because the bed wetting was an every night thing and it wasn’t fair for Peter to wake up in a wet bed every time. 

“I was thinking that” Tony agreed “I’ll order some after I get him cleaned up”

Tony then remembered why he walked out to the bedroom in the first place “Peter’s clothes are in my car so can you just go and get him one of my shirts. It’ll be big enough to cover everything”

Pepper nodded and started making her way to get Peter a shirt to wear but before she left the room she turned to Tony and stopped him from walking into the bathroom “Tony”

Tony turned around and waited for Pepper to speak “You’re really good with him, you know. And I know you can do this”

At that Pepper left the room and Tony was there to think about what she said. He smiled to himself because he was extremely happy that Pepper was on his page and that she believed in him. 

Tony walked into the bathroom still smiling but his smile dropped when he saw Peter. Peter was inside the shower still but was holding himself in a ball on the floor as the water ran over his head. Tony wanted to help Peter and to make him feel better so that he didn’t have to feel so hurt anymore but he knew that it was a long way for Peter to be happy again mainly because Tony didn’t really know what was gonna happen next. 

Tony grabbed a towel off of the sink counter top and moved to where the shower was so he could turn it off and help Peter. 

When Tony turned the shower off and placed the towel over Peter’s shivering body, Peter flinched and immediately looked up with fear in his eyes looking like he was about to run away but he immediately relaxed when he found out that it was only Tony. 

“How about we get you out of this shower now, buddy” Tony suggested as he tried to lift Peter out of the shower but Peter made no move to stand up himself so Tony picked him up and carried him out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. 

Tony sat down on the bed and tried to get Peter to stand in front of him but Peter was leaning against Tony so he just picked him up and placed him on the bed next to him. Peter tucked his head forcefully into Tony’s side and was trying to borrow his way into there so he was covered. 

“What’s wrong, Pete?” Tony asked. He knew that today had been really hard and emotional for Peter considering it was only 11am in the morning still. 

Peter seemed to find a spot that he was comfortable in and he relaxed his body “I don’t like when I wet the bed”

Tony sighed. He moved his hand so he could run his fingers through Peter’s hair so that he was relaxed “I know it sucks but it’s not your fault. It just happens” 

Peter whined. He removed his head from the hole that he had pushed it in between Tony’s side and his arm and he sat up looking at Tony with tears in his eyes “Do you...?”

“No. I don’t” 

Peter seemed like he wanted a different answer. So he tried a different question “Does Pepper?”

Tony shook his head, “No, she doesn’t, but that doesn’t mean that we think of you any less, Peter. These accidents happen and it’s okay”

Peter stuck out his bottom lip “I just, I want to stop because I don’t like it anymore”

Tony didn’t understand why Peter said ‘anymore’ as if there was ever a time where Peter actually enjoyed wetting the bed. 

“You will stop. Eventually” Pete looked up at Tony with hopeful eyes “I’ll help you stop, and so will Pepper”

Peter beamed he reached his arms up to give Tony a hug and Tony pulled him into his lap while making sure that the towel didn’t slip. Peter laid his wet hair on Tony’s shoulder but Tony didn’t care because it was just Peter and he wouldn’t care even if it was his tears wetting into his shirt. 

They stayed like for a few minutes until Pepper walked in with the shirt for Peter.

“Here you go, honey” Pepper said softly handing the shirt over to Peter but Tony grabbed it instead. Peter lifted his head up slowly from Tony’s shoulder and looked at the shirt as if he’d rather just stay in his towel but Tony didn’t think too much of that because Peter was just looking really tired and miserable but Tony didn’t blame him because he knows how Peter has had a very hard day today and it was no doubt going to just get harder and more stressful. 

“Let’s get this on you” Tony suggested. Peter didn’t look too happy about the request but lifted his arms up anyways for Tony to put the shirt over Peters head. 

Tony made a mental reminder to get Peters clothes from the car for him later so he didn’t have to spend all day in just a shirt but it was Tony’s shirt so it was a lot bigger on Peter and actually looked like a dress how it fell down to just above Peters knees. 

Pepper gave Tony a desperate look that said ‘we need to talk now’ and that scared Tony a bit because it seemed like she left to get the shirt in a good mood and now she looked like she wanted to strangle someone. Tony just hoped that that person was not himself. 

Despite Peter sitting on Tony’s lap and clinging to him, Tony stood up and tried to place Peter on the floor but Peter whined at the loss of contact and reached up to Tony making grabby hands and a strained look on his face. 

“What’s wrong, bud?” Tony asked. He knew that Peter wanted him to pick him up but they were both gonna go to out to the living together anyways. 

“I want you to carry me” Peter said desperately and still trying to grab onto Tony like his life depended on it. 

Tony gave in. He loved carrying Peter in his arms anyways so it was like a win win situation for both Tony and Peter. Tony bent down and seated Peter on his hip and Peter seemed to be content now because he put his head to rest on Tony’s shoulder and wrapped his tiny arms around Tony’s neck. 

They all made their way out into the living room and Tony could tell that Pepper really needed to talk to him because of the way she was playing with the ring on her finger that Tony noticed she only did when she was nervous or anxious. 

Tony gave her a desperate look before turning his attention back on the child in his arms, “Hey, Pete? Pepper and I have to go talk about something and it’s really boring stuff so how bout you stay here and watch some tv”

Peter thought about it and then shook his head “No, I wanna stay with you”

Tony sighed. Peter didn’t have a choice in this, “It’s gonna be really boring stuff so you’re gonna stay here and I’ll put on some cartoons for you”

Tony said a bit more demanding. He felt bad for not giving Peter a choice of what he does but he guessed that Peter was used to not getting any choices. Peter gave Tony a sad look as Tony tried to pry Peter off of him and put him on the couch. 

It was hard for Tony to do because just like Peter, he wanted to be around the kid all the time. Something about him feeling like he had to protect Peter from the evil world that they live in and Peter sadly happened to experience that first hand at such a young age. 

Asides from Peter whining at the loss of contact from being in Tony’s arms and him reaching out his arms for Tony he didn’t do anything else. Peter slowly lowed his arms sadly once he realized Tony wasn’t gonna pick him up again. 

“I’ll put on some cartoons for you,” Tony grabbed the remote and put on a children’s channel. He didn’t really know what Peter likes to watch “You can just tell FRIDAY what you want to watch and she’ll put it on for you”

Peter nodded his head looking up at Tony sadly like Tony just stepped on all of his puppy’s and told Peter to deal with it. Tony hated Peter looking at him like that because it made him feel guilty even though the reason Tony had to leave was for him to deal with the whole Peter situation. 

Pepper grabbed Tony’s arm gently and tried to pull him away but Tony had a hard time leaving Peter when he was looking at him like that. Eventually Tony reluctantly moved. 

Once Pepper and Tony were out of earshot from Peter, Pepper spoke “We have to deal with this whole situation before it gets out of hand”

Tony knew they had to, he just didn’t want to. 

“You’re the best at this kind of stuff so how do we do it?” Tony asked. They went into the elevator and Pepper pressed the button for her office. 

“Well,” Pepper begun “First we have to call Peter’s Aunt and let her know the situation then we’ll work from there”

The elevator doors opened and Pepper started walking in her powerful walk over to her office doors. She opened them and walked in with Tony following her then sitting at her desk and Tony in front of her. 

She opened up her computer and started typing things then she looked up at Tony “After I call her and tell her we have Peter everything that happens after that is all gonna depend on how she reacts to the situation”

“Sounds good to me” Tony was a bit nervous but he didn’t want to admit it “You’re the best at this”

Pepper just smiled and shook her head as she took her phone out calling Mays number and putting it on speaker. Both of them stared at the phone nervously waiting for May to pick up. 

On the fourth ring May answered “Hello?”

Pepper went into her business professional tone “Hello May, I’m calling because Peter is still with us and he didn’t go to school today” 

“Why didn’t he go to school?” May said annoyed “You know how much we pay for him to go to that school? We aren’t paying for him not to go”

Pepper gave Tony a look that said ‘This isn’t gonna go well’

Pepper spoke calmly “May, the reason why Peter didn’t go to school today was because when Mr. Stark dropped him off Peter had an emotional break down and didn’t want to leave him so Mr. Stark brought him back here”

May sighed over the phone “Peter’s an emotional kid but he can take shit so just send him back to school and Ben will pick him up after then you don’t have to worry about the brat again”

Tony saw red. He hated how May could just talk about Peter like that. Peter who was actually blood related to her and Peter who was the sweetest kid ever. Tony wanted to bud into the conversation but he knew he couldn’t. 

“That’s not gonna happen, May” Pepper begun “Mr. Stark and I have discovered that your husband, Ben, has been sexually abusing Peter and we tend to take this to the police”

May went silent for a few seconds and both Tony and Pepper held their breaths. 

May then seemed to find her words “You don’t have any proof. Ben would never touch Peter. He loves him, maybe your husband sexually assaulted Peter and I can take this to the police” 

Tony wanted to scream. He stood up from the chair that he was in and started pacing around the room with his hands in his hair. 

“I can assure you that my husband, Mr. Stark, would never ever lay a hand on Peter in that way” Pepper said standing up for Tony. She wanted to punch May in the face for even bringing that up hen May knows damn right that it is her husband who is sexually assaulting Peter, “Tony what’s nothing more than to protect Peter from people like your husband”

“Peter doesn’t need protecting from my husband” May said angrily “We were the ones that had to raise him after his parents had to die and leave us to deal with him”

Pepper was about to speak but then May spoke again “What did Peter tell you?”

Pepper could sense the nerves in Mays voice in the question and so did Tony because he sat down in the chair again. 

Pepper looked at Tony, he nodded so Pepper spoke “Peter’s told us what he needed to for us to find out what has been going on at your home. He has also acted a certain way in certain situations that basically told us everything that we need to know”

May was silent again. Once again both Tony and Pepper held their breaths and waited “Peter is a child, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about and other than that you don’t have any proof!”

Tony placed his finger over the mute button to talk to Pepper without May hearing it “Tell her to bring Ben and come here so we can talk in person”

Pepper nodded and Tony unmuted the call “We do have proof, May. You and Ben will come to the tower at six and we will talk about this”

May sounded like she wanted to argue but she was too scared to do she agreed “Ben gets off of work at six so we’ll be there at seven”

Pepper agreed “We’ll be waiting”

Pepper hung up and looked at Tony. Tony and her just stared at each other not really knowing what to say. 

But they were both thinking the same thing. Tony stood up and ran his hands through his hair again “This is not gonna be fun”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I have a bunch of ideas for how I want this to go but I can’t really decide on how exactly I want it to go so yikes.... I’m just gonna write and see where it takes me but I’m so excited uxugxgxuixgixhixhihxihxihx
> 
> As always ignore the stupid little notes under this that I can’t ever get rid of


	14. I don’t care what it takes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m soooo happy because I passed my drivers test today!!!! Omg omg omg I was soooo scared for it and I actually passeddd ahhhhh omggg I’m sooo happy right nowwww:))))))

There was still a few more hours until May and Ben Parker would be coming to speak with Tony and Pepper and they both had no idea at all how that would go. 

Tony didn’t want to admit it but he was really scared. He was scared because he didn’t want to go through this whole process of having to get Peter from the Parkers and he didn’t even know if it was possible or not. He also had no idea how to go about the whole process. 

After the phone call with May, Tony and Pepper made their way into the elevator to go to their floor to go see how Peter was doing. When they got there Peter immediately heard the elevator doors open and he peeked his head over to couch to see who it was and when his eyes landed on Tony he immediately stuck his head up and lifted his arms up so Tony could pick him up which Tony did. 

“Hey, bud. How are your cartoons?” Tony asked. He already felt more relaxed with Peter in his arms and he loved that. 

“It’s good! I was watching Dinosaur Train but then it ended so your friend in the ceiling put another one on for me!” Peter said excitedly. Tony laughed at Peter calling FRIDAY ‘Friend in the ceiling’ because that was so cute and innocent. 

“Well that was nice of FRIDAY” Tony smiled and then walked around to the couch so he could sit with Peter. 

Peter positioned himself so that he was sitting on Tony’s lap facing the man “Um... I'm hungry”

Tony then realized that he forgot to give Peter lunch which he felt instantly bad for. But it made him feel a little bit better how Pepper forgot as well.

“We can make whatever you wanna eat” Tony stood up with Peter still in his arms and started making his way into the kitchen “What do you feel like?”

Tony placed Peter on the counter as Peter thought “Hmmmm...? I want pizza!”

“Okay then, pizza it is!”

Tony’s and Peter’s pizza making went really well surprisingly. Pepper had to step in and make sure that Tony remembered to put it on a proper temperature and she helped clean the kitchen up while Tony went to go help clean Peter up. 

It was getting closer and closer for it to be time for May and Ben Parker to come to the tower so Tony had to call up someone to keep an eye on Peter since he had no idea how long they would be and he couldn’t just leave Peter by himself. 

“Let’s go back to Pepper” Tony said grabbing Peters smaller hand in his and already making his way into the kitchen where they found Pepper wiping down the counter. 

Tony cleared his throat and gave her a serious look, “I need to go talk to someone real quick so Pepper is gonna stay with you until I get back” 

Peter looked up at Tony sadly. Peter didn’t want Tony to go but he said he’d be back so that means that he definitely will come back because Peter knows that Tony doesn’t lie. 

Peter reluctantly nodded his head and let go of Tony’s hand so he could go and grab onto Peppers hand. 

Tony gave them both a reassuring smile before he left the room. 

Once in the elevator, Tony pressed the button for Steve’s floor. 

It was his only option available to watch over Peter that Tony trusted. Plus Steve was decent with kids and actually liked to hang out with them. 

It would only be for a little bit until Tony and Pepper get everything with May and Ben sorted out and how they decide to go about the whole situation. 

When the elevator doors opened Tony walked out and saw Steve sitting on the couch reading some sort of cooking book. 

“Hey Cap” Tony announced his presence and Steve jumped. Tony snickered thinking about how much Steve was probably into that book to not here Tony walk in. 

“Oh Tony,” Steve put the book down saving its page “You scared me”

Tony laughed “Yeah, I can see that. What’re reading anyways?”

Steve picked the book up and looked at the back cover “It’s a book about healthy nutrition-“

Tony cut Steve off “I don’t actually care. The reason why I’m down here is because a lot has been going on in this past week which I don’t have a lot of time to explain so I’m gonna summarize it. About a week ago Pepper and I had got involved with this kid, we found out that his Uncle has been sexually assaulting him and now I want to adopt him. His Aunt and Uncle are coming right now to talk to Pepper and I and it’s not gonna be pretty and I don’t know how long it’s gonna take so I’m gonna need you to watch the kid”

Tony watched Steve’s face as he tried to take everything in that Tony was saying “You’re messing with me right? I’m gonna go up there and there’s gonna be no kid but you’re gonna throw a cake in my face or something”

Tony shook his head motioning for Steve to follow him “Nope. I’m telling the truth and I’ll explain everything in more detail later just... can you watch him?”

“If there’s actually a kid up there then yes of course I’ll watch him for you, Tony, but I don’t understand” Steve got up and followed Tony into the elevator. 

“I told you I’ll explain after this meeting. I just need you to watch the kid” Tony was fidgeting with his hands so he shoved them into his pockets. 

“How old is he?” Steve asked curiously. 

“He’s nine and his name is Peter” Tony needed to quickly explain to Steve “He’s been sexually abused, Steve, we don’t exactly know the details but just be careful”

Steve seemed to see red at that. If Tony knew one thing about Steve was that he hated seeing anyone especially kids in danger and it hurt him to think that he couldn’t help them when it was happening. 

The elevator doors opened and Tony leaned over to Steve “Just stay here and let me introduce you first before he sees you”

Tony walked into the kitchen leaving Steve standing there. He saw Peter who was sitting on the counter eating some sort of chocolate. 

Peter looked over at Tony and his eyes lit up when he saw the man “Tony! You came back for me!”

Tony walked over to him and ruffled his hair as Peter leaned into the touch “I told you I would but listen up, buddy”

Tony waited until Peter’s face turned serious “Pepper and I have to go to a really important meeting and you have to stay here and we don’t want you to be alone so we brought you someone to keep you company” 

Peter’s eyes widened in fear and he subconsciously moved closer to Tony so Tony tried to calm him down “His name is Steve and he’s a really good friend of mine. Don’t worry because he’s not gonna do anything to you, he won’t hurt you. I promise”

Peter relaxed a bit at that but he still looked scared “Why can’t you stay with me?”

Tony brushed back the child’s curly brown hair as he spoke “Because I have to go to this meeting. I promise you I’m gonna come back”

Peter nodded sadly. Tony eyed him for a few seconds before deciding to bring Steve out “Come in, Steve!”

Peter moved closer to Tony as he looked over his shoulder to see who was gonna walk around the corner. 

Steve walked out and Tony would have laughed at the surprise on the Captains face at seeing an actual child sitting on the counter. 

“Peter this is Steve, Steve, Peter” Tony introduced the two and he put his arms on the counter in front of Peter so it was like Peter was in his own Iron Man safe bubble. 

Peter’s eyes widened but he still kept his head down while his eyes peeked out. 

Steve stepped closer but stopped at the edge of the counter “Hi Peter. I’m Steve”

Peter giggled “I know who you are. You’re Captain America”

Steve and Tony both laughed at that and Tony suddenly felt very stupid because how did he not think that Peter wouldn’t know who Captain America was!

“Yeah, you’re right” Steve smiled. 

Peter giggled again and then turned to Tony leaning over to whisper something in his ear. Tony leaned closer to listen “You didn’t tell me it was Captain America”

Tony pulled away and ruffled Peters hair “No, I didn’t but I should have”

Pepper came back into the kitchen and patted Tony on the shoulder “We have to go now”

Tony nodded, he turned to Steve and motioned for him to walk closer “I’m gonna go now, bud, but I’m gonna be back so soon. Can you go with Steve now?”

Peter looked at Tony sadly and nodded then reached his arms up for Steve to pick him up. Steve reached for Peter and picked him up and was about to place him on the ground but Peter put his arms around Steve’s neck wanting to be held on his hip. 

Tony laughed at how awkward Steve looked as he tried to find a comfortable position to put Peter in and it reminded Tony of when he first held Peter on his hip and didn’t know how to hold him.

“Alright, bud, I’m gonna go now but I’ll see you soon” Peter waved bye to Tony and Tony left to go change into a suit quickly and then meeting Pepper by the elevator doors to go start this meeting.

It was harder than Tony thought it would be to leave Peter even if he was still gonna be in the same building just a few floors down and also Steve was watching Peter which Tony knew that Steve would keep Peter save and it seemed like Peter would be okay with Steve for a few hours or however long this whole meeting would take. 

Tony also guessed that the reason he was so scared to leave Peter was because of the reason why he was leaving Peter. It was hard because Tony was gonna have to allow Peters abusive Aunt and Uncle so close to Peter. 

At the same time it was a complicated problem because Tony didn’t have any rights to Peter meaning that May and Ben could take Peter right out of here if they really wanted to and Tony couldn’t do anything but watch. It would also most likely lead to any situation like that but Tony really hoped that wouldn’t be the case. 

The elevator ride was silent because both Tony and Pepper were too busy in their own thoughts thinking about how this meeting was gonna go. 

When the elevator doors opened they both walked out still without saying a word and they walked into Peppers office. 

Pepper sat down and was the first one to break the silence between the two “No matter which way this meeting goes we have to call the police”

Tony sat down across from Pepper and looked up at her but didn’t say anything. He knew they should have called the police the first minute they found out that Peter was being sexually abused but it was hard because for a really long time they weren’t 100% certain and part of Tony was scared that this is gonna affect the outcome of him adopting Peter. 

“We have to, Tony” Pepper said desperately “Peter can’t go back to living that life. It’s not fair to him”

Tony understood. He really did, he was just scared that somehow the story was gonna get twisted and everything is gonna get out of control and it’s gonna affect everything. 

“I know we do, Pep” Tony said looking down at Peppers desk at some pens “It’s only fair to Peter that we do this. For him”

Pepper didn’t say anything else about it. She nodded “Okay. They’re gonna be here any minute so now we just wait”

Less than ten minutes later FRIDAY was announcing the arrival of their guests and five minutes later the doors were being opened and in walked an angry looking Ben followed by a surprisingly sad looking May. 

Tony was now seated on Peppers side of her desk and stood up to shake hands with Ben as he walked closer with an angry facial expression directed at Tony. 

As he got closer he slapped Tony’s hand away and slammed his hands on the desk leaning closer to Tony. Tony kept his calm complex and leaned closer to Ben as well. 

Tony spoke in a low voice “Please sit down, Mr. Parker because I really don’t feel like calling the police so early in our meeting”

If Ben was scared he didn’t show it “Like hell You’re gonna call the cops on me! I didn’t do anything wrong!”

May came up to Ben with the same sad facial expression on her face and placed a gentle hand in Bens arm to try and calm him down “Don’t, Ben. Just please sit down”

Ben reluctantly listened and sat down and then so did Tony. May sat down and played with something in her lap. 

Pepper spoke “I don’t know what your wife told you, Ben, but Peter has told us that you have been sexually abusing him” 

Pepper left out the part of May admitting that to Pepper during the first meeting they had because she didn’t want to bring that up and expose May in front of Ben right at the moment unless she had to.

Ben nodded along to what Pepper was saying looking like he was about to snap “Well that kid doesn’t know what the fuck he’s talking about! He’s a kid, he’s stupid, I was probably changing him because he fucking wets the bed every god damn night and I probably accidentally touched his penis or something and now he’s saying that I sexually abuse him. Bullshit!”

May flinched at her husbands loud voice but didn’t say anything or even look up from her lap. Pepper started speaking again “Ben, I know you know that Peter is a very smart kid. He can keep up with Tony in the lab at only nine years old. He’s very intelligent. Let me ask you something, when did Peter start wetting the bed?”

Ben shook his head and looked between Pepper and Tony like they both had four heads “I don’t keep a fucking diary! I don’t know! He just started one day and then it got worse and worse until it was every night so we got tired of changing the sheets so we’d just make him sleep in it” 

Tony saw red. Just looking at Ben was making him sick to his stomach and he tried to hold himself back from punching Ben with everything in him “How could you let a child sleep in their own fucking urine all night. That’s sick”

Ben waved Tony off and Pepper had to place her hand on Tony’s knee from under the table to calm him down. 

“Ben,” Pepper said “There’s no point in trying to cover yourself up with lies to try and convince us that you aren’t the one who’s sexually abusing Peter. When children are sexually assaulted they start to wet the bed and I’m willing to bet that Peter started wetting the bed shortly after you first touched him inappropriately”

Ben didn’t say anything and Tony didn’t know him all that well but he would guess that Ben was getting scared. 

Pepper didn’t say anything for a few seconds because she was thinking if she should admit it front of Ben what May had told her in the very first meeting that they had. She looked between May and Ben before speaking “May had admitted what you do to your nephew. She told me everything and at first I didn’t really believe her until I started to see the signs for myself but I can assure you that you will not get away with this”

May looked up from her lap with a terrifying look on her face. She looked at Ben like she was waiting to get hit by him or screamed at and when Ben looked towards her with betrayal on his face she flinched “May, what the fuck- I don’t fucking, and you believed her? She was probably just trying to get my job back for me”

Pepper continued “We both know what is happening at your home when your door is closed and both Tony and I have spoken and thought about it and we are willing to take Peter in”

May looked up from her lap and looked at Pepper for the first time since the meeting started and she had fear in her eyes as she looked at Pepper desperately. Ben face turned red and Tony was getting ready to call a suit to him but before he could Ben spoke “You’re fucking saying that you want to fucking adopt my nephew?”

“We want what’s best for Peter, Ben,” Tony said “And you guys aren’t it”

Surprisingly Ben didn’t say anything because he seemed to be too much in shock and so did May but she opened her mouth to speak “We are Peters only family. You can’t take him away from us”

May was practically begging but it was too late for that “The damage has already been done, it’s too late to try and be Peter’s family now” Tony said “You already lost his trust and he doesn’t want to see you guys again”

At that May let out a sob and buried her face in her hands and cried. No one tried to comfort her because the tension in the room was too thick to even think about that right now. Both Tony and Pepper looked towards Ben waiting for him to say something but he didn’t. 

It was silent in the room for a few minutes asides from Mays crying no one spoke. 

Ben leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms seeming to have thought of a way out of this “You can’t have Peter. We haven’t put him up for adoption so he is still legally ours and you’ve got no proof to prove that I’ve raped the kid so you can’t have him”

Tony tried not to flinch at what Ben said. That’s what scared Tony the most about this whole thing because if May and Ben never gave their permission it’s gonna make it extremely hard to adopt Peter. 

“There are other ways to go around this kind of stuff, Ben.” Pepper began “Child abuse of any kind is taken very seriously under the law and all we have to do is bring this to the police and Peter will be taken away from you and an investigation will begin. You are wrong because we do have lots of proof to back us up”

Ben uncrossed his arms and leaned forward, the fear returning to his face “I could say that Mr. Tony Stark over here raped my kid while I trusted him to watch him!”

Tony wanted to scream at Ben and punch him in the face but instead he kept his calm “You could. But you won’t and that’s because you’re being filmed right now so say hello” 

Tony turned around to the camera in the corner of the room and waved to it then turned around and looked at Ben staring up at the camera. He saw the fear in Bens eyes grow and so did the satisfaction in Tony’s stomach. 

Pepper watched May’s face as she looked up to the camera and seemed to realize that her confession was caught on camera from the very first meeting.

Everyone jumped a bit when Ben stood up abruptly and began pacing around the room screaming “Get my fucking nephew down here right now! You act so tuff because you’re Iron Man and you kill people with your suit but you have my kid right now and instead of sending him to school you locked him away in your fucking tower like a prisoner!”

Ben paused and then continued “You call the police on me and I’ll call the police on you for child kidnapping!”

Tony had to hold back a laugh. If Ben actually thought that he was scared of getting the police called on him then Ben was more stupid than Tony originally thought.

“Call the police on me, I don’t care” Tony said. He really didn’t care about that “No matter what happens just know that you caused this upon yourself”

“You think you can get away with anything you want because oh you’re the great Tony Stark and no one dares to mess with him but just know that I’m not scared of you and I’m not gonna let you take my nephew away from me!” May looked up from her hands and looked over at Ben who was still pacing around the room and yelling. It looked like she wanted to tell him to stop talking but she never did. Instead she stayed silent like she was too scared to speak and make the situation worse.

“I want to see him” Ben demanded “Let me see my nephew!”

Pepper shook her head “Like we said, he doesn’t want to see you guys. You have lost his trust”

May wiped her tears and leaned closer to Pepper with a desperate look in her eyes “Please, let us see our kid”

Tony waited for Pepper to say something. He could tell that she was thinking about it and that she was trying to put herself in Mays shoes but he knew that Pepper would never be in that kind of situation on May’s side because she would never stand back and watch something so horrible happen to a child let alone her nephew. It was sick and both May and Ben don’t have the right to go against Peter’s wishes right now. 

“I’m sorry, May, but you brought this upon yourself. The least you could do after everything is respect what Peter wants” Pepper looked at her computer screen and then stood up without saying anything. 

She walked over to her office door and opened it to reveal two police officers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so I don’t really know how to go about this whole adoption process and everything leading up to that but I’m trying my best!! I’m actually really lost with this fic right now because I have sooooo many ideas with what to do but trying to write them is really confusing me right now because I want to handle this the best way for you guys plus this will obviously continue into the next chapter to clear more things up


	15. If you need a way to feel strong again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m so happy because I’m trying to move to Australia to study and I emailed some university there to ask questions and they emailed me back and it just made me so happy omg I really hope I can do this:))

The police officers walked into the room and stood by the door. 

Tony couldn’t hear what Pepper was saying to them but he assumed that she had already called them ahead of time and already updated them on everything that was happening.

Ben was looking at the police with a fearful look in his eyes but he just stood there not saying anything. 

Tony didn’t know if Ben would be getting arrested right now in this room so he also sat there not saying anything as Pepper talked to the two police. 

It was silent in the office as if everyone was waiting for someone to make a move next. Pepper seemed to finish talking to the two officers so she turned around and stood by the door watching. 

Tony held his breath as the police walked over to Ben. He didn’t know why he held his breath he was just terrified that this was gonna turn out any other way that would end in him not ending up with Peter. 

Ben crossed his arms as the police started questioning him. 

Eventually May cut in and started to get questioned as well as both Tony and Pepper watched on. They were waiting to get questioned as well but they didn’t so they just watched everything. 

The whole thing went on for only about fifteen minutes but Tony knew that it wasn’t over yet. 

The police had just asked if Ben had been sexually assaulting his nephew which Ben said no to and May was asked what she knew but she stayed silent. 

Tony knew that the whole investigation couldn’t be done in an office in his tower and that this had to be moved to a different place so he wasn’t surprised when the police were ending things off. 

One police officer brought Ben and May outside the office while the other one stayed to talk to Tony and Pepper. 

“We do have reason to believe that Ben Parker is sexually abusing his nephew” The police officer began “From everything that you reported as well as how him and his wife are acting. Although we cannot arrest him without concrete evidence so we will need to get a court order to investigate his house. Until then unless Mr and Mrs. Parker allow you to, they will be taking Peter back into their care”

Tony felt his heart drop. His breathing picked up and he had to grab onto his chest as he stood up to round the desk to be closer to the police officer “No, there’s no way you can send that child with them. Don’t you understand that Peter’s Uncle is fucking sexually assaulting him every night and you think it’s gonna stop just because he’s scared now, his Uncle is only gonna make it worse tonight! Can’t you get a judge in here right now to get that fucking court order?”

The cop shook his head “I’m sorry, Mr. Stark, I’ve been in many situations like this before where I know something is going on but I legally can’t do anything about it until we get a court order”

“Well how long is that gonna take?” Tony asked. His breathing was getting faster and faster but it felt like his chest was closing in and he could tell a panic attack was happening soon. 

“We’re gonna file the report today so hopefully if things past through we’ll have one by tomorrow around twelve” 

That wasn’t good enough. Tony could just imagine all the things that could happen before then if Peter goes home with his Aunt and Uncle. Tony thought about his Uncle even killing him and Tony finding out that Peter is dead and...

There was a hand on his shoulder and Tony looked over with blurry vision to see that it was Pepper. He tried to calm down and focus on her hand on his shoulder but it was really hard with everything else going on. 

The police didn’t seem to notice that Tony was having a panic attack and if he did he didn’t say anything about it “The Parker’s want to take Peter home with them so you have to give Peter to them or else you can be arrested for child kidnapping” 

That made Tony lose it “What the fuck! So this guy is a fucking rapist and you’re not doing anything about it but I’m trying to keep Peter so he doesn’t get fucking raped and now you want to arrest me?! For protecting a child!”

If the cop was scared by Tony’s sudden outburst he didn’t show it, probably because he was used to it “Mr. Stark, I assure you that is not what is happening. The Parkers have legal guardianship over Peter and until we have legal evidence to take Peter away from them, this is what has to happen”

“And Peter actually admitting what his Uncle does to him isn’t enough evidence for you?”

The cop shook his head “Do you have proof of Peter saying that?”

Pepper spoke up “Yes, we both heard him say it multiple times.”

“That’s not enough” The cop said “How do we know that you’re not making that up just so you can adopt Peter?”

Tony glared at the cop angrily “Peter is a great kid but I wouldn’t be trying to adopt him if he came from a loving family and his Uncle wasn’t doing what he does to him. The reason why you’re here isn’t because I’m trying to take a kid away from his family that loves him, I’m doing this because Peter deserves so much more than... them. And anyone who has a brain can see that”

Pepper lightly squeezed Tony’s arm as the cop started talking “I can see that, Mr. Stark. I don’t want to do this but right now we are going off on your word and my suspicion that what you say is happening is actually happening. If Peter can admit it to me then I can see if I can prevent him from going with his Aunt and Uncle”

Tony knew that Pepper was hiding something and was waiting for the right time to say it so he looked at her and waited for her to start talking “May Parker has admitted what her husband does to Peter during our first meeting. I was sceptical at first about it because I believed she was making up any sort of story she could to try and get her husbands job back. I didn’t actually believe her until I realized for myself through how Peter was acting and what he was saying that what she actually told me that day was true. By that point Mr. Stark and I had already had Peter in our care so we gave them an ultimatum that they obviously didn’t follow through on” 

The police officer looked at Pepper with narrowed eyes seeming to think about what Pepper was saying and the new information he got “If you can show me Mrs. Parker saying that then that sure will be helpful in this situation”

“I’ll get FRIDAY on it” Tony said. He pulled out his phone and was already trying to find the evidence from that day. 

“Perfect. Just get the evidence here” The police officer said.

Tony and Pepper both agreed. They had no idea how this would turn out but they had to try. 

“Can you go and get the child?” The cop asked Tony so he went to go get Peter. 

Tony and Pepper both walked out of the office and when they did they saw May and Ben sitting in the chairs outside the office looking a mixture of anger and fearful. 

Ben looked up when he saw Tony and narrowed his eyes at him “Bring my kid down here, Stark”

Tony turned to him while he kept walking “I don’t take orders from child abusers”

Before Ben had the chance to say anything else the elevator doors closed and they were making their way to their private floor. 

Tony felt his hands start to shake because this was gonna be the hardest part. 

Before, Tony had no idea what was gonna happen with the meeting but now that he knew how that turned out he never expected to have it ended the way it did especially now having to bring Peter to see his abusive legal guardians. 

“This isn’t gonna be easy” Pepper said before the doors opened and Tony mentally agreed. 

They both stepped out and they were met with Peter’s childlike laugher filling the room. 

As they walked closer to the sound they were met with Steve and Peter in the living room painting a picture of something.

Peter must have heard that someone was walking in so he looked up towards the elevator and once he saw Tony his eyes lit up and he was running over to the man with outstretched arms. 

Tony felt all the stress and worry leave his body just for a short few seconds as he hugs Peter close to his chest. 

Tony lifted Peter up still wrapping him in a hug as he walked over to the couch where Steve was. 

By the look on Steve’s face Tony could tell that he knew something was wrong and that’s why they were up there to begin with. 

Pepper sat at the far end of the couch to let Tony deal with telling Peter the news because it would not be easy. Tony shared a sad look with her before he sat down on the couch and moved Peter over so that he was sitting on the ottoman in front of Tony instead of on his lap. 

Peter seemed to be able to tell that something was wrong because his facial expression went from happy to concerned once he saw how tense Tony was. 

Peter looked at Tony worriedly “Whats wrong? Did I do something bad?”

Tony smiled at Peters innocence “No, Peter. We need to talk to you about something serious so I need you to listen”

Peter nodded his head and his face turned serious as he tried to concentrate on what Tony was about to say. 

Tony began “Do you remember how you told me that your Uncle is a bad man because he does stuff to you that you don’t like?”

Peter nodded his head so Tony continued “Well I don’t like how he does all those bad things to you either so I wanted to take care of you from now on but your Aunt and Uncle didn’t like that idea so they won’t let me”

Tony paused and waited for Peter’s brain to catch on “I want to keep you so badly, Peter, but your Aunt and Uncle don’t so I can’t, but I don’t want you going back with them so I called the police and now the police are here but you need to tell the police what you told me”

Peter’s eyes started watering and he shook his head aggressively “No! N-no! I don’t wanna! I don’t wanna g-get in t-trouble!”

Tony reached out and grabbed Peters small hand and held it in his “You won’t get in trouble, buddy, but you need to tell the police man so you can stay with me, don’t you wanna stay with me?”

Peter sadly nodded his head “Yeah, but I d-don’t wanna t-talk to the police man because h-he’s gonna be m-mad”

Tony sadly shook his head. He just wished this whole situation could have been easier to handle and Peter didn’t have to be put in the middle of it “I promise you he won’t be mad at you, Pete, but you need to tell him what you told me”

Peter shook his head again and more tears fell from his eyes “No, I don’t wanna”

Tony sighed. He looked over at Steve and Pepper who looked equally as sad and frustrated “Please, Peter. You have to”

“Why do I have to?” Peter cried out “I don’t wanna do something I don’t wanna do anymore!”

That hurt Tony more than the words intended to. He knew Peter didn’t know or intentionally try and hurt Tony but those words did just because Tony knew what Peter was referring to. 

“This is gonna help you, Peter. I’m trying to help you and keep you safe” Tony explained “So can you please tell the police man what you told me”

Peter thought about it for a few seconds seeming to think about the pros and cons for each but then he sniffled and nodded his head. 

“Thank you, Peter” Tony reached over and gently picked Peter up so that he was on his lap. 

Peter shoved his head into Tony’s neck and wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck “Will you come with me?”

“Of course I will” Tony reassured. 

There was one other thing that Tony debated if he should tell Peter or not. He really didn’t wanna tell him that his Aunt and Uncle was here in the tower because he was hoping that he could find a way to avoid them but eventually Peter would find out and he didn’t want the kid to be under prepared to see them. 

Tony pulled Peter back and held him on his lap to tell him this “Peter, there’s one other thing”

Peter played with Tony’s suit button not looking Tony in the eye “What is it? Am I in trouble?”

Tony shook his head and smiled despite the situation “No, bud. I just wanted to tell you that your Aunt and Uncle are here”

Tony felt Peter freeze on his lap and then his head snapped up to look Tony in the eye. The tears came back and fear appeared on the child’s face as he shook his head aggressively “No no no no no no, I’m not gonna go with them. I-I don’t wanna s-s-see them”

“I know you don’t. I don’t want you to either and if it were up to me I’d keep them as far away from you as possible but under the law I can’t because they’re your legal guardians” Tony explained but he knew Peter wasn’t understanding what he was even saying. 

“I don’t wanna” Peter cried out. He brought his fist up to his eye to rub away the tears making him look five years younger. 

FRIDAY spoke up interrupting everyone “Boss, May and Ben Parker are requesting access to your floor”

Tony stood up and placed Peter on the couch ignoring the whine that Peter let out “No, FRIDAY, don’t let them up”

FRIDAY was quiet for a few seconds as Tony looked around the living room. He had gotten up and walked closer to the elevator. Pepper was looking at Tony worried and Steve had the same look on his face but directed at Peter who had curled into a ball on the couch. 

“Boss, they are pretty persistent on you letting them up” FRIDAY said. 

“I don’t care, FRI, don’t let them up” Tony looked at Pepper “Tell them we’ll be down with Peter in five minutes”

Peter heard what Tony said and looked up from his ball on the couch at Tony. His face was all red from the crying and his fearful eyes looked at Tony “No! I don’t wanna see them!”

Tony stepped towards Peter who slowly watched him approach and moved away. As Tony got close enough he grabbed onto Peters arm to try and stop him from running away. He wasn’t doing this to hurt Peter, he was trying to protect him but how would Peters young mind understand that. 

“Please stop fighting me, Peter. Everything is gonna be okay but you have to come with me” Tony begged. 

Peter stopped fighting him but he still kept crying and it broke Tony’s heart. Pepper stood up and was standing next to Tony getting ready to leave whenever Tony got Peter. 

“I’m gonna be with you the whole time” Peter looked at Tony trying to tell if he was telling the truth or not but he trusted Tony so he reluctantly nodded his head and stood up. 

Tony looked at Steve not saying anything and took Peters hand in his guiding them over to the elevator. 

Once inside Peter lifted his arms up to Tony silently demanding to be picked up so Tony bent down to pick the distressed child up and placed him on his hip with Peters face in his neck and his arms wrapped around his neck as well. 

Pepper rubbed a hand on Tony’s back to support him for what they were about to deal with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a really hard time writing the first half of this chapter because I had absolutely no idea how the police would handle this situation. I tried to look it up but I couldn’t find anything to really help me write this so I’m sorry if it’s kinda bad I tried:/ also I kinda took inspiration from the movie No Escape when the dad has to throw the kid off the roof and the way the kid looks at him and tries to run away, that’s how I pictured peter in that scene when tony tries to grab him to bring him to see the police officer


	16. Home is when I’m with you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I know this is a slow build but I hope everything is starting to make sense and is falling into place. 
> 
> I start school in 2 days and I’m kinda scared but also kinda excited but I wanted to post this today and I’m gonna try and write the next chapter either today or tmr 
> 
> I hope you guys like this:)

Tony held onto Peter tight in his arms when the elevator doors opened and they stepped out.

He could feel Peter wrap his tiny arms around his neck tighter as they walked out of the elevator and into the room. Tony looked around spotting the two police officers standing by the door first. They made eye contact with Tony but Tony looked away from them and looked at May and Ben who were sitting in the same spot on the chairs as when he left to get Peter. 

Tony subconsciously held Peter tighter as well and tried to position himself in a way that they couldn’t see Peter but that was nearly impossible from how he was holding the child in his arms. 

Ben stood up and both of the police men stepped towards him in case he charged at Tony and Tony took a step back from Ben. 

Ben spoke “Give my kid back, Stark”

Tony felt Peter go tense when he heard Bens voice and Tony wanted nothing more than to turn around and run into the elevator with Peter and lock him up in the tower until he never had to see his Uncle ever again but he knew he couldn’t do that. 

Before Tony had the chance to say anything the cop stepped forwards and put his hand on Bens chest which Ben tried to shove off “We are going to talk to your nephew while you wait here”

Ben looked at the police man like he was crazy and Tony thought for a second that Ben was gonna try and run away but he didn’t “What the fuck do you want to talk to my kid for?”

Tony stepped forwards now because he couldn’t take this “What do you think he wants to talk to Peter about”

Peter tensed even more in Tony’s arms that he thought Peter was actually gonna strangle him from the pressure Peter had around his neck. 

Ben didn’t say anything. Tony looked down at May who was sitting there like she was in a trance. She had an empty look on her face as she looked up at Tony holding onto Peter. Tony ignored that look and turned his attention back to Ben waiting for him to say something but he didn’t. 

“We are gonna ask Peter some questions in the next room” Tony looked at the police officer who was speaking. The cop gestured for Tony to bring Peter into the office so Tony followed him in.

Once inside the officer spoke “I’m gonna ask him some questions. Can you put him down, Mr. Stark?”

Tony reluctantly put Peter down with some struggle because Peter refused to let go of him “It’s okay, Peter, just tell the police man everything”

A slight shake of Peter’s head that Tony wasn’t even sure if anyone one else saw it but he knew he did and that Peter wasn’t gonna talk. 

The police officer pulled up a chair and sat down on one across from it “Have a seat, Peter, I just wanna ask you some questions”

Peter looked at the police officer and then back up at Tony with tears in his eyes and fear written all over his face “No, please. I don’t want to”

Tony barely heard Peter whisper to him “It’s gonna be okay. Be brave, Peter. I’ll be right outside” 

Tony didn’t want to leave Peter but he knew he wouldn’t be allowed in the room and he didn’t want to cause a scene and scare Peter so as hard as it was gonna be he was gonna leave the room. 

Peter shook his head and lifted his arms up but Tony didn’t pick him up this time “It’s gonna be okay”

Tony gently guided Peter over to the chair but Peter was grabbing onto his arm and trying to pull him in the other direction “No. No”

Tony hated hearing Peters broken voice. It hurt him to be doing this but he had to get Peter to talk to the cop. 

Tony got Peter in the chair and he didn’t miss the way that Peter stuck his arm out to try and reach for him but Tony walked away and to the door where the other cop and Pepper were watching. It hurt Tony to leave Peter but he knew he had to right now. 

Before the office doors were closed Tony glanced back at Peter one more time meeting his watery brown eyes staring back sadly at him and taking in his body curled up on the chair. 

The doors were closed and now Tony had to wait. 

Peter watched Tony leave. He didn’t feel safe anymore without Tony there to protect him. He put his head in between his legs to hide himself from the scary man in front of him.

“Peter,” The scary man said “My name is office Bill and I’m just going to ask you a few questions”

Peter peeked an eye out at the police man catching his eye before putting his head back between his legs. 

“How do you like living with your Aunt and Uncle?” The police man, Bill, asked. 

Peter didn’t answer so he continued “I’m sure they’re really good, right? How about your Uncle?”

Peter flinched. He still didn’t remove his head. 

“Has your Uncle ever done anything to you that you didn’t like?” 

Peter kept his head between his legs as he nodded his head. Even if he didn’t say anything that still counted right? 

Peter didn’t hear anything for a few seconds and he thought he said something wrong so he peeked his eye out again and saw Bill writing something down. 

“Has your Uncle ever touched you somewhere you didn’t want him to touch you?” Bill asked another question and again Peter nodded his head without saying anything. Bill again wrote something down then asked another question “Has he ever made you touch him somewhere you didn’t wanna tough him?”

Peter thought about the question. He never really wanted to touch his Uncle at all in anyway but he especially didn’t like it when his Uncle would make him take turns letting his Uncle touch him on his private area and making him touch his Uncle on his private area. Peter nodded his head once again. 

Bill, the police man wrote something down again then asked another question “Has your Uncle ever...” 

The police man paused and Peter looked up with his whole head now to see why he had stopped. Peter saw that Bill seemed to be in thought about something. 

He continued “Has your Uncle ever made your bum hurt?” 

Peter didn’t understand the question so he looked at Bill confused. What did he mean by making him bum hurt? Maybe he meant his feelings because his Uncle hurt his feelings a lot. 

Peter didn’t answer the question so Bill spoke again “Do you know what rape means, Peter?”

Peter didn’t know what that was. He’s heard maybe Tony and Pepper say it before whenever they thought Peter wasn’t around but he never asked them what it meant. No one had ever told him. 

The police officer could see the confusion on Peter’s face so he guessed that the child didn’t understand the question and what it meant but that was okay because he had everything that he needed. 

“Thank you for answering my questions, Peter, you were very helpful” Bill praised Peter which Peter beamed at. 

Peter didn’t get up as he watched Bill go to the office door and open it. He heard whispers between the two police officers but he couldn’t make out what they were saying because he was waiting for Tony to appear in the door where he left. 

Peter didn’t have to wait long because less than ten seconds later there Tony was in the doorway making his way over to Peter. Peter’s face lit up and Tony crossed the distance between the two and wrapped his strong arms around Peters body practically dragging him to his feet so that he was standing up in front of Tony. Peter suddenly felt safe again. 

There were louder voices in the hallway outside the office but Peter ignored them. He pushed his face further into Tony’s stomach and held onto him tight. 

Peter heard footsteps walking into the room then Tony was talking “I have the video evidence for you”

“Great. Great” One of the police said. 

Tony must have handed them something because Peter felt hands under his armpits and then his feet in the air before he was placed on Tony’s hip and Peter put his face back into Tony’s neck and closed his eyes. 

Tony started walking and Peter was pretty sure it was back into the hallway outside the office but he didn’t open his eyes to check. 

Tony ignored May and Ben still sitting on the chairs as he made his way over to Pepper who looked nervous “How did it go?” She asked. 

Tony shook his head and rubbed Peter’s back “I don’t know but they’re watching the video now” 

No one said anything for about a long ten minutes until both police officers were exiting Peppers office. They looked around the room, eyes landing on Ben and making their way over to him. 

“Ben Parker you are under arrest for child sexual abuse and possible rape of a child” One of the police man said. 

Tony felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders at that. This whole time he knew Ben was guilty and so was May just for knowing about it and not saying anything to help Peter but he was still scared that things weren’t gonna work out this way and somehow Ben was gonna get off. 

Although Tony knew that he wouldn’t have let that happen. 

Tony held Peter closer to himself as he watched May break out in tears and Ben rise to his feet “What?! Are you fucking serious! Why the fuck am I under arrest?! I didn’t do shit! Stark is the one with my nephew when I gave no permission for him to have him!”

Both officers stepped forwards towards Ben and tried to stop him from throwing his arms all over the place so they could put his hands behind his back and arrest him “Please put your arms behind your back, sir!”

Tony caught Bens eyes and the look he got from him sent shivers down his spin “This isn’t over, Stark! I’m gonna kill you! You hear that? I’m gonna fucking kill you!”

Pepper grabbed onto Tony’s arm and Peter let out a whimper and grabbed onto Tony tighter.

Everything seemed to be happening so fast yet in slow motion all at the same time. 

Peter clung tightly onto Tony and didn’t remove his face from his neck. Tony held him back just as tight. 

May kept on crying as the police officers managed to get Bens hands behind his back and get him in hand cuffs so he could be taken out of the tower and into the police station. 

Tony felt like the room was spinning and he wasn’t so sure if he was actually walking or not. He focused on the heavy weight in his arms and the tight grip that Pepper had on his arm. 

The police officers walked Ben into the elevator with May following behind them. Tony couldn’t help but look at Ben in the elevator. Ben gave him the worst dirtiest looks he has ever gotten in his whole life and he’s gotten a lot of those. 

Once the elevator doors were shut and Ben was gone, Tony took a calming breath. 

The whole situation was too much right now and he felt like he needed to get out of that room. He needed to go with Peter up to his floor and just get away from everyone who wasn’t Peter or Pepper. 

Before Tony even realized what he was doing he was in the elevator still holding onto Peter and Pepper following behind him.

Tony pat Peter’s back as he held him in his arms and tried to comfort him in the elevator ride up to his floor. 

Pepper was doing the same to Tony’s back but it did little to actually calm his nerves. 

When the elevator doors finally opened up on his floor he stepped out and walked over to the living room so he could sit down. Pepper followed them over but she didn’t sit down, deciding to give Tony and Peter some space just the two of them. 

Tony sat with Peter in his lap as he still held him close to his chest. Peter was shaking and Tony wasn’t she’s if he was as well from everything that just happened. 

It wasn’t fair that Peter had to see that and have to go through something like that at such a young age and on top of everything else. 

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Peter finally calmed down enough to remove his face from Tony’s neck. When he pulled away he looked at Tony with such sad and confused eyes. 

Tony took in Peters face and never wanted to see that look on him again. He was too young to have that sad look on his face. 

Peter’s eyes were red and watery and his cheeks were flushed pink and were wet from his tears. He brought a hand up to rub at his eye “Is Uncle Ben and Auntie May in trouble?” 

Tony didn’t know how to answer that. Sure the kid was old enough to understand getting arrested by the police and he saw his Uncle get put in handcuffs as well as all the screaming going on. Tony kept one hand on Peter’s back and the other hand went up to gently touch his cheek “Your Uncle isn’t a very good man, Peter. He’s going away for a little bit”

Peter’s face turned into more confusion as he took in what Tony had just said “Am I in trouble?”

Peter looked down at his lap and started playing with his hands. Tony gently moved his hand from Peter’s cheek to lift his chin up so that he was making eye contact with him again “No, Peter. Don’t you ever think that. You didn’t do anything wrong”

Peter didn’t say anything. He just looked at Tony for a few seconds and then looked away over at Pepper. Tony followed his gaze and suddenly remembered that Pepper was still standing there. He got so used to her presence that he didn’t even realize her standing by the end of the couch. 

Tony smiled at her weakly but she didn’t smile back. 

Peter laid his head on Tony’s chest once more so Tony relaxed into the couch because he knew he was going to be sitting here for awhile. 

Pepper must have thought that same thing so she took out her phone, turned and left down the hall until Tony couldn’t see her anymore.

Tony held Peter against his chest where he knew he was safe. There was so much that he had to protect Peter from and today was just the beginning of it but Tony promised Peter that he would protect him through it all no matter what.,

Peter was too young right now to understand everything and all the legal aspects about the whole situation but everything would soon be okay. 

Although at the back of Tony’s mind he knew that everything was gonna get a little worse before it was gonna get better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it:) 
> 
> I’m trying to move to Australia soon because I need to get out of where I live, I’ve been here my whole life and I’m just so sick of it I can’t even leave myself without wanting to cry because I hate it so much so I’m gonna try to move far away literally as far as I can get


	17. I promise I’ll come back

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hiii guys!! Sorry I haven’t posted in awhile. I took a break from posting for no reason at all but now I’m back:)) 
> 
> I hope you guys like this

Tony had no idea what time it was or how long he had been sitting on the couch with Peter for but it was long enough for Peter to have fallen asleep and long enough for Tony’s back to start hurting him. 

He placed on hand under Peter’s butt and stood up. His legs ached as he stood up and now that he was standing he could feel the pins and needles on his left arm and his foot. 

Either way Tony ignored them because he had to get Peter into a bed before he got to work. He knew that Pepper was already started on all the work that they had to do, phone calls, paperwork and meetings but he had to go and join her eventually no matter how badly he wanted to stay with Peter. 

At the back of Tony’s mind something was screaming at him to stay with Peter and watch over him while he slept but the other part of his mind, the less protective side and the more logical side was telling him that by leaving Peter and going to work with Pepper on all the phone calls and paperwork that that was him protecting Peter because he was doing this for him. All for him. 

He was doing this so that Peter could be his. So that he could adopt Peter and give him a proper childhood as well as put Ben and May behind bars for what they did to Peter and everything that they put him through in his short and already hard life. 

Tony got to Peter’s bedroom and lightly kicked open the door. It was pitch black in the room and he was pretty sure that Peter was scared of the dark so he would definitely have to buy a lamp or a nightlight or something but he didn’t have time to go out and buy those things right now so he would have to make due with what he had. 

The bathroom light. 

Tony held Peter who was still fast asleep in Tony’s arms under his butt with one hand as he made his way through the dark in Peter’s room hoping not to trip over anything on his way to find the bathroom light switch. 

It was a lot harder than Tony would have thought but he did manage to find the bathroom and the light switch. When he did he switched it on and was about to close the door so that it wasn’t lighting up the whole room and was only open a crack but the door got stuck on something. 

“What the...” Tony whispered. He looked down to see what was blocking the door and was surprised to see what he saw. 

There sitting on the ground was a box of diapers. 

Tony bent down a bit to read the label on the front of the box which read ‘Pampers pull-ups’

He remembers the talk with Pepper and how she said that she was gonna order some night protection for Peter so he wouldn’t wake up in a wet bed every night and so that he wouldn’t be so tired during the day due to all the nightly wettings that were happening. 

Tony mentally debated if he should wake Peter up and help him put one on or if he should lie Peter down on the bed and put one on him while he slept but Tony pushed away both thoughts immediately. 

He needed to let Peter sleep so he’d rather risk helping Peter clean up a wet bed later on than waking the exhausted kid up. 

The other idea was even worse because what would be more worse than Tony taking the pants off of a sleeping past survivor of sexual assault. Well, Peter was still a current sexual assault victim since everything was just happening but they would work on it. Peter was safe now. 

With no other choice, Tony laid Peter on his bed. 

He would just have to hope that Peter would wake up in a dry bed and mostly not wake up from a bad nightmare. 

Either way Tony would be there for Peter.

.  
.  
.

“So what happens now?” Tony walked into Peppers office without knocking and asked. 

He just assumed that she would have some idea as to what would happen at this point with Peter and the police as well as his Aunt and Uncle. 

Pepper looked up at Tony from her computer and then looked back down as she spoke “I’m working on it. His Aunt and Uncle are at the police station right now giving their statements. His Uncle is definitely gonna be put behind bars but it’s a matter of for how long and as for his Aunt, we don’t know yet. They’re trying to decide if she was apart of what Ben did to Peter or is she just knew and didn’t say anything” 

Tony sat down in the chair across from Pepper and listened to her speak “Both of them should get life behind bars with no chance of them getting out. Fuck! They fucking messed up that kids life!”

Tony couldn’t remember the last time he was this angry. He doesn’t think he actually was this mad before in his whole life because he has never been in a situation like this that involved a child. 

He was trying not to freak out in front of Peter before because he didn’t want to scare the kid anymore than he already was but now that Peter wasn’t here he could show how mad he was. 

“I swear to god if the fucking police don’t do anything about this and give him what he deserves for fucking up Peters life then I will!” Tony slammed his hands down on Peppers desk which caused her to jump “I swear to god I’m gonna kill him!” 

Pepper gathered herself so she could calm Tony down “You aren’t gonna be killing anyone, Tony. That would be the worst case scenario here” 

“How? He’s dead and would never be able to hurt Peter ever again!” Tony yelled “Am I missing something here or is that not the best case scenario?”

“Tony, you kill him and then get arrested yourself for murder and now Peter has lost yet another person that he’s gotten close to and has put his trust into” Pepper explained realistically “Let’s see what happens first, Peter needs you here right now. Not locked up in some jail” 

Tony put his hand over his face because Pepper made a good point but if the police didn’t give the man what he deserved then he would be giving Peter justice. 

“Just let me-“

Tony was cut off by FRIDAY speaking “Boss, there are two social workers here to see you” 

Tony looked up at the ceiling surprised as if FRIDAY was an actual human being who had just slapped him in the face “What? Why?”

Pepper sighed from across the desk and stood up to answer for FRIDAY “Tony, CPS. You know how this works” 

Tony stood up as well because yeah, he obviously knew that child protective services came in situations like this but for some reason it completely slipped his mind. He thought that it would be dealt with differently considering who he is and what’s going on. 

He was stupid to think that. 

Pepper walked out of her office and into the elevator so she could go meet with two social workers who came “Whatever happens I need you not to freak out because if we want to adopt Peter then we need to show them that we aren’t crazy people, Tony” 

Tony looked at Pepper annoyed because why would she even think that he would jeopardize the chances of adopting Peter. “Pep, I’m not gonna say anything crazy” 

Pepper gave him one last look before the elevator doors opened on the main floor in the lobby and they stepped out. At the front desk were two people, a woman and a man. 

Tony stepped towards them and shook hands with the women first “Nice to meet you, I’m Tony Stark”

The woman smiled at him, she had blonde hair pulled back into a tight ponytail and had on heavy makeup that kinda made her look like a clown “Hello, Mr. Stark, my name is Audrey and this is my colleague, Davis. We were called here to deal with the case of Peter Parker. We were told that he is currently in your possession” 

Tony shook hands with the man, Davis, who had red hair and was at least a foot shorter than Tony. Pepper also shook hands with them as Audrey was talking. 

“Peter is in our possession because he has no where else to go” Pepper explained. 

“Is there somewhere we can go and talk?” Davis asked. 

“We can head to my office” Pepper said and then they all began to walk to the elevator so they could talk in Peppers office. 

Inside the elevator nobody said anything and all that could be heard was the sound of the elevator moving of the ruffling of papers coming from Audrey as she was looking in her brief case for something. 

Tony was biting his tongue and trying so hard not to say anything that he would later regret. 

When the elevator doors opened they all walked out and followed Pepper into her office. Tony sat down on Peppers side as the two social workers sat down on the other side. Tony realized that he was just in this situation just a few hours before. 

Audrey began “As of right now Ben and May Parker are at the police station getting questioned and we looked into Peter’s case and found that he has no other family members that can take care of him until things are settled so that means that we have to take him CPS for the time being” 

Both Tony and Pepper felt their heart drop into their stomachs but Tony was the first one to gather himself to speak “He doesn’t have to go anywhere because he can stay here” 

Davis was the one to speak this time “Mr. Stark, you aren’t Peter Parker’s legal guardian so we can’t leave him here with you by law” 

“Well then make me his legal guardian” Tony almost yelled “Let me sigh whatever I need to sign” 

Audrey sighed “Mr. Stark, Peter cannot stay here with you-“

Tony interrupted her “He’s been here with us because his Aunt and Uncle don’t care about him so why can’t we just keep him here until you sort your shit out-“

Pepper placed her hand on his knee and gave it a squeeze to calm him down so he stopped talking and ran his hand through his hair. 

Audrey continued from what she was saying before “As I was saying. We will take Peter and place him at CPS for the time being until things are sorted out” 

Tony stood up and started pacing around “How do we file for legal guardianship then?” 

“Is that what you guys want? To have legal guardianship over Peter?” Audrey asked seriously and Tony sat back down. 

“Yes. We want to adopt Peter but until we can do that we’ll settle for legal guardianship” Tony explained. He didn’t understand why it was so hard for them to process that to begin with. 

“Alright. We will send over a lawyer to get you to sign for legal guardianship over Peter Parker but right now we need to take the child into CPS” Davis explained and Tony had to bite his tongue again from going off. 

Pepper could sense that so she spoke “We’ll go with him and stay with him until the lawyer can bring the paperwork” 

Audrey shook her head “I’m sorry, Ms. Potts but Peter needs to be taken by us and has to stay there for twenty-four hours before anyone can see him” 

Tony wanted to scream and punch something at this point but he knew he couldn’t do that because then he would probably get arrested. Maybe that wouldn’t be so bad because then he could end up in the same jail cell as Ben and beat the shit out of him. 

“When will a lawyer be sent over?” Tony asked. 

“We can get in contact with one and file the paperwork through so that one can be here first thing tomorrow morning” Davis said. He looked sad for some reason and Tony knew it was because he could see how desperate both him and Pepper were. 

“I’m sorry that it has to be this way but it’s the law” Audrey said sadly “Would you please bring Peter down here so we could take him into CPS?”

Tony wanted to fight it but he knew there was no point. He knew Peter had to go with these people and stay at CPS for 24 hours before he could pick the kid up again. 

“We’ll go get him” Pepper stood up and spoke “you guys can wait here” 

Both Tony and Pepper stood up and left to get Peter. 

.  
.  
.

Tony gently pushed opened Peter’s bedroom door and walked in with Pepper. 

Peter was still sleeping which broke Tony’s heart because he didn’t want to be the one to have to wake Peter up and tell him he had to leave with strange people. 

They both sat down on Peter’s bed but Tony was the one who sat closer to his face so he could wake him up. He gently ran his fingers through the child’s hair “Peter, buddy. Wake up for me”

Peter shoved his face into his pillow more and stretched his legs under the blankets “M’tired” 

“I know, buddy, but you need to wake up because we need to talk to you about something” Tony looked at Pepper as he said that because he really didn’t want to have to do this. 

That seemed to wake Peter up because he was opening his eyes and looking up at Tony with wide eyes “Am I in trouble?” 

Tony gently laughed and placed his hand on Peter’s cheek “No, bud. You’re not in trouble” 

Tony looked at Pepper again and she started talking “Sit up for a sec, Peter” 

Peter sat up with the help from Tony and looked at Pepper with a worried look on his face. Tony had no idea how to bring this up to Peter so he let Pepper take the lead “I know today has been a very hard and big day for you, Peter, and you’ve been so brave so far but I need you to be brave for us for a little longer. You’re gonna go away for a little bit and stay the night with these really nice people but me and Tony will be back tomorrow to pick you up” 

Tony unconsciously held his breath as he waited for it all to process in Peters head and when it did he felt Peter start to shake and then there were tears coming out of his eyes “W-where am I going?” 

Tony rubbed Peter’s back but moved his hand when Peter flinched from him. It pained Tony whenever Peter did that but he knew it wasn’t Peter’s fault and it was just his body’s reaction to some unexpected physical contact. “You’re gonna go away for a little bit, buddy” 

Peter looked up at Tony with wet and sad eyes “B-but, I wan’ stay with y-you” 

“I know. I know, buddy, and you will but right now you just have to go away for a little bit” Tony wanted so badly to pick Peter up but he knew he couldn’t touch him right now unless Peter asked him to or made the contact himself. 

Peter covered his face with his hands as he cried into them and Tony knew that it was a mixture what what was going on and over tiredness. He stood up because they had to get Peter down to the social workers quickly. 

As soon as Tony stood up Peter opened his eyes and reached for Tony. Tony looked at Pepper who stood as well and was starting to pack a bag for Peter “Check if he wet the bed” 

Tony listened to Pepper and pulled back the front of the blankets to see if the bed was wet and thankfully it wasn’t so he picked Peter up in his arms and let the child wrap his arms around his neck and his legs around his waist. 

Tony watched as Pepper quickly put some clothes into a bag for Peter as well as his tooth brush and his Iron Man teddy bear but then she thought better of it and held onto it so she could give it to Peter later. 

“I got everything. Let’s go” Pepper said and then the three of them walked out of Peter’s bedroom and made their way down to Peppers office.

Tony continued to hold Peter in his arms all the way down to the office where the social workers were. Each step he took was another step closer to Peter leaving him and his heart was breaking. 

He knew it was the best option right now and the only option that would all work out in the end but it was really hard right now. 

Pepper and Tony shared a look with each other as the elevator doors opened and they stepped out. Tony let Pepper step out first because this was really hard for him and he didn’t want to let go of Peter. 

“Is he ready?” Audrey asked. Both of the social workers stood up and were making their way over to Tony and Pepper. 

“He’s ready but we need to say goodbye to him first” Pepper said sadly. 

“If you’re planning to do what you said you wanted to do then it’s just goodbye for now” Davis explained but that doesn’t make it any less harder. 

Audrey reached for Peter’s bag that Pepper was holding and the two stood in the corner to give the small soon to be family some company. 

Tony took everything in him to kneel down so he could let go of Peter and look at him from arms lengths “Peter, me and Pepper are gonna see you tomorrow, Okay? You’re gonna go with these nice people for the night” 

Peter’s bottom lip was wobbling and it broke Tony’s heart. Peter tried to go back into Tony’s arms but he held him at a distance so he couldn’t “I want you to be brave and we’ll see you soon, bud” 

Tony could tell that Peter was still really tired and that he was having a hard time letting everything process in his brain but when it eventually did he started to aggressively shake his head and try to reach for Tony again. 

“It’s gonna be okay, honey. We’ll see you soon” Pepper said calmly and rubbed Peter’s back. 

“We should get going now. Does he need a car seat?” Audrey asked. 

Tony stood up and reached down to pick Peter up who was desperately reaching for him “We’ll get it in the car for you” 

“No” Davis stopped him “It’s best for him if you don’t follow us out. It’s easier that way, believe us” 

Tony and Pepper both looked at each other realizing that they had to say goodbye to Peter right now. It was gonna be hard but if that’s what would be easier for Peter then they would do it.

“Peter, remember everything we said and we’ll see you tomorrow” Tony said and then pressed a kiss to Peter’s forehead. 

“No” Peter whined and looked around with fear in his eyes. 

“We’ll see you tomorrow, baby” Pepper leaned forwards and pressed a kiss to Peter’s temple. 

This was the hardest part but they had to do it. 

“I’ll take him” Davis stepped towards Tony and held his arms out for Peter and as badly as Tony wanted to turn away from him he knew he couldn’t and that he had to hand Peter over. 

As soon as the man grabbed Peter and took him out of Tonys arms, Peter started crying and screaming and reaching out for Tony “No! N-no! Please! No!” 

“It’s gonna be okay, Peter” Tony’s heart was breaking and so was Peppers because she stood by him and wrapped her arm around his arm. 

Audrey gave a sad smile towards both of them but they missed it because they were too busy looking at Peter and watching him get taken away. 

Peter was still crying and screaming for them even after the elevator doors closed and he was gone. 

“Let’s just go up” Tony said brokenly and pulled away from Pepper to go back to their floor. 

They didn’t say anything the whole way up because both of their hearts were breaking and it was so hard to be back on their floor without Peter. 

The little time that they all got to know each other and spend time with each other was enough for them to become a family. 

“I’m gonna go down to my lab-“

“Tony” Pepper interrupted him and he turned around to see Pepper holding a piece of paper by the couch “look at this” 

Tony curiously walked over and took the paper from Peppers hands. She started crying and sat down on the couch with her face in her hands. 

The paper was a painting. Tony realizes that it was the one Peter was painting earlier today before everything bad started happening. The painting was of two big people who had giant smiles on their face and in between them was a smaller person with hearts all around his head. 

Tony sank into the couch beside Pepper and stared at the painting. 

It was what Peter painted of their little family and now he was gone and he didn’t even get to show them it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m gonna try and get the next chapter up by next Monday but no promises. Also I dropped out of college because it just wasn’t for me


	18. White blank space

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you guys read this I just wanna say that I don’t know how the law or adoption works and in this particular situation as well so just keep that in mind while reading this:) 
> 
> Anyways I hope you guys like it ok so I wanted to post this so badly on a Monday that’s just because that’s my schedule for this and usually I don’t care but I do rnnnn because all day I wanted this to be posted today and it’s currently 11:58pm sooo I’m gonna make it!!! 
> 
> I was gonna make it longer but just here it is:))

That night Tony got no sleep. 

He knew he wouldn’t be able to fall asleep so he didn’t even bother going to bed. It was just past five in the morning and he had a pounding headache that he had ever since he left Peppers office after Peter was taken. He was drinking coffee to try and get his headache to go away but he knew that the only way it would go away is if he actually went to sleep but he knew he wasn’t gonna get any sleep any time soon. At least not until Peter is back and with him. 

Pepper on the other hand wasn’t like Tony so she went to bed around one in the morning after spending a long time in her office talking on the phone with social services and lawyers to prepare for tomorrow. 

Tony wasn’t sure if she was actually sleeping or not but he assumed that she probably was and that’s why he wasn’t going up to bed because he didn’t wanna wake her with his own reckless sleeping. 

That’s why he was down in his lab drinking about his sixth cup of coffee of the night. He knew it wasn’t doing anything to stop his headache or the sleepiness he felt but it was more of a bad habit than anything else. 

He couldn’t stop even if he wanted to but he guessed it was better than opening up a bottle of liquor and getting drunk. Anything was better than that because he always felt like complete shit after. Both physically and mentally but the worst was how Pepper would treat him. He didn’t blame her at all and he’s actually really thankful that she yells at him and threatens to leave him every time because that way he knows not to do it again. 

Like right now. He wants to drink. He wants to drink so fucking bad but he won’t. Technically he could blast open the cabinet with his alcohol but he doesn’t wanna go that far. 

The last time he had gotten drunk was when Pepper went away for a week and no one was there to stop him plus this was almost a year ago when he wasn’t in a very good spot in his life, like many times. He got drunk the day before Pepper came home and then she found him lying on the bathroom floor with vomit everywhere. 

After that they compromised. 

Two locks and one drawer. All the alcohol was in a cabinet that required two locks to get into. That way whenever he wanted to drink he had to get his key out and ask Pepper for her key but she would always tell him he didn’t really need it. It worked. 

Tony ran his hands through his hair and stood up. He couldn’t work in his lab right now so he went up to the kitchen to get something to eat.

To his surprise, Pepper was already awake and was in the kitchen cooking something on the stove. She looked over towards Tony and gave him a weak smile before turning back to the food she was cooking. From the little glance that Tony had of her, he could see that she looked really tired, her eyes were red rimmed and she had eye bags which was really rare to see with Pepper. 

He stood next to her but not too close that they were touching and he leaned against the stove “Good morning. You’re up early”

She glanced at him briefly and then looked away “I could say the same thing about you but we both know you never went to bed” 

Tony sighed and ran a tired hand through his hair “We also both know that I wouldn’t have been able to even if I tired” 

The food was done, Tony could now see that they were eggs, so Pepper grabbed a plate out and dumped them onto the plate then moved get a fork and sit down at the kitchen island. 

Tony didn’t say anything as he watched her. She spoke first “I talked to our lawyers last night and they’re gonna meet us at CPS later today to fill out the guardianship over Peter before we can see him” 

Tony nodded his head. Something about the way Pepper said it made it sound like there was more than just signing the papers. “What else aren’t you telling me?” 

“Tony, can’t we just leave it at that?” Pepper said tiredly. She hadn’t even started eating yet. 

Tony felt his patience wore thin “I’m not gonna leave it there because I need to know what’s going on with my kid!” 

Pepper screamed back “Well you’re not gonna know what’s going on with your kid, Tony, because he’s not your kid! And he’s not gonna be because we can’t adopt him!”

That caused all the anger in Tony to leave his body for a few moments as he settled down into the chair across from Pepper and looked at her seriously “What do you mean we can’t adopt him?” 

Pepper sighed again and ran a shaky hand through her hair and took a breath before she began explaining “We can’t adopt Peter unless Ben and May are found guilty”

Tony didn’t understand what he was hearing “What? Why can’t we adopt him before they’re found guilty? Just fucking send them both to jail I don’t give a fuck!”

Pepper raised her hand telling Tony to calm down so she could talk “Because there’s still a chance that the sexual assault allegations are false and in that case they would take Peter back into their care. What we are signing for is a temporary guardianship meaning that if we past the tests proving we are fit to take care of him until proven guilty or not guilty we will take care of him” 

“How could there even be a chance that they’re found not guilty. I don’t give a fuck what kind of pity story they make up” 

“Tony, we don’t know what’s gonna happen yet so just don’t get wilded up” Pepper said “We have to get Peter from CPS in a few hours so go get ready” 

Tony wanted to keep asking questions but he knew that Pepper only only knew so much and that it wouldn’t make him feel any better to ask all his questions right now because the questions that he asked Pepper would only lead to more questions that she didn’t have the answers to and he didn’t want that. 

It was still really early and he didn’t know exactly when they had to leave or when they would be able to see Peter but he hoped it was soon because he wasn’t sure he could handle his racing thoughts any longer. 

Once he was ready he was planning to just barge into CPS and demand they give him Peter. Whatever it takes. 

.  
.  
.

Tony And Pepper had both gotten ready and drove to CPS which was about an hour drive from where the tower is. 

The whole car ride over, Tony couldn’t help but think of Peter in the car last night being ripped away from him and Pepper and forced into a car with complete strangers after he had to witness everything with his Aunt and Uncle only hours prior. 

The thought made Tony sick to his stomach and it only made him drive faster so he managed to get them there thirty minutes earlier than they were supposed to be there but Tony was not waiting any longer. The longer he has to wait to see Peter the crazier he was gonna get and he wasn’t having that. 

When they pulled up to the front of the building, Tony was sure that he took up at least two parking spots but it wasn’t like he cared. The parking lot was empty as of right now so why did it matter. 

He got out of the car and slammed the door already making his way to the front doors “Where’re the lawyers?”

Pepper walked up next to him and pushed down her skirt “Would you stop and think for two seconds, Tony! If you go in there and start yelling at them you really think they’re gonna let us take Peter home with him” 

Tony looked at Pepper and thought about it. She had a point. She always did. 

While he would shoot first and ask later she had the more reasonable approach of things and used this thing called common sense that he seemed to lack at times. He knew she was right and that if he went in there yelling and causing a scene then it would be very unlikely that he would get to take Peter home with him after everything. 

He took a calming breath and put his hand on his heart because he could practically hear his heart beating out of his chest. “No. You’re right, Pep. I just-I just wanna see him” 

Tony paused because he felt a warm hand on his back that he knew was Peppers trying to relax him. He continued “I just can’t think about anything else but his scared and confused he must be and I want him to be safe at the tower with us. Not here” 

Pepper nodded. She felt the exact same way and she really wanted Peter to be with them and feel safe and content but that couldn’t happen right now so they had to do what they had to do to make it all happen. For Peter. 

Just then, to both of their surprises, the front door was being opened revealing a woman dressed in a yellow dress with a white under top. She was tall, maybe because of her high heels but she wasn’t as tall as Pepper. 

She raised her painted on eyebrows at them “We don’t open for another thirty minutes. Please come back” 

Tony thought that it was a bit odd how she didn’t react to him being... well, who he is. Most people did. Actually everyone did unless he was supposed to be there, for example at the tower or at a meeting and back in his playboy years, at the bar or club. He thought it was funny how she didn’t even care. Not that he was planning on using his fame to get them in. 

Pepper held her hand up “We have a meeting regarding adoption and legal rights with two of your social workers here so please step aside and let us through” 

Tony hadn’t really seen Pepper when she used her intimidating voice but he was a bit scared if he would admit it. Which he never would. 

The woman looked at Pepper questionably and then to Tony then back to Pepper and raised her eyebrows again “Is it involving a child here at CPS?”

“Yes” Pepper said. 

The woman eyed Pepper suspiciously before stepping aside “Very well then. You can sit here and wait while I call up for someone to come and get you” 

“Thank you” Pepper thanked before they both sat down in the uncomfortable blue chairs in the waiting room. 

There wasn’t anytime to think or talk about anything as a woman was entering the room through a glass door and scanned the room before her eyes landed on Tony and Pepper and then she walked over to them. 

“Mr. Stark and Mrs. Potts, if you would follow me I will take you to the social workers in charge of Peter Parker’s case” The women spoke and then turned on her heels and started making her way through the glass door that she appeared from and into the long hallway. 

Tony scanned the hallway, looking at all the doors that they past by thinking that it could be where Peter is but then he thought better of him being there. He was probably in another, more secluded part of the building. 

The woman opened a door at the end of the hall and gestured both Tony and Pepper inside without a word and then left. 

Inside the room was a office with a large rectangular table in the middle of the room and big bay windows across from the door that looked out into the forest behind them. 

Both the social workers that were at the tower and took Peter with them last night were there. They both stood up to greet Tony and Pepper and then gestured for them to sit so they could begin. 

“Where’s Peter?” Tony asked. He couldn’t wait any longer. 

“Peter is currently in the room we gave him for the night with his care taker” Audrey explained but she had that look on her face that said that she was holding information. Thankfully Tony didn’t have to ask because she explained “We were well aware of Peter’s living conditions and what happened to him before he came here, we aren’t monsters as much as you probably think we are, Mr. Stark. We care for our children because like I said, they are children. Peter obviously, as expected had a hard time in the car and cried the whole way here. He refused to have a bath and given his situation circumstances we didn’t push him but he let his care taker change him into his pyjamas but he had an accident and wet the bed last night. As expected and his care taker dealt with it but he’s still shaken up so she’s still with him right now, I believe she’s reading to him” 

Despite everything that was going on, Tony did however feel a little bit better at the fact that Peter was at least okay and content for now. He knew that these people did care for the children brought here, otherwise this place wouldn’t last a day. But it didn’t make him want Peter to stay here and longer than necessary. 

“After we sign the papers can we take him home?” Tony asked. He just wanted Peter already. 

“Yes. You will then be able to take him home” Audrey said.

Davis pushed a pile of papers towards the two “Are your lawyers-

Just then the door was being opened and in walked two of Tony’s lawyers. They all shook hands and greeted each other and then sat down at the table. 

It took about two hours but it was done. Tony and Pepper were Peter’s temporary guardians. 

“It’s finished! Mr. Stark and Mrs. Potts, you guys are now Peter Parker’s temporary guardians” Audrey spoke with some excitement “You guys are now legally responsible for Peter for a temporary amount of time. Remember there will be a scheduled meeting with Davis and I and then the rest will be unplanned just so we can see how things are running. I will have Peter brought out now” 

Pepper leaned closer to Tony. It was only temporary guardianship but it was a start. 

They all shook hands with each other and stood up. Tony’s lawyers said their goodbyes and left as Pepper and Tony went into the hallway to wait until Peter was brought to them. 

Tony couldn’t believe that he was actually about to adopt a kid. He couldn’t process the fact that he had a legal responsibility over a child right now. He was beyond happy and all he wanted to do right now was to see Peter. 

Pepper kissed his cheek “I can’t believe this. This is... unbelievable, Tony” 

Tony matched the smile on Peppers face because it was so unbelievable to him as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok sooo I just wanna say that as I’ve said before I know nothing about the law and how adoption works so I know what I’m writing about in most likely wrong in terms of the law and I’m sorry if some of you do know how that process works you’re more than welcome to point that out to me but I just wanna get that out there. I’ve looked it up on google tons of times and tried to do my best to find out how the process would work and I’ve also asked some of my friends if they had any idea so after all that this is what I got 
> 
> I don’t know how adoption works as I said before so I’m just gonna write what I think would happen in the law with this particular situation and if you don’t like the way I write it then bye and if you do know how it works then feel free to comment if you want:)


	19. Hold me tight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote half of this chapter a few weeks ago and then came back to it and I personally don’t like this chapter and it’s kinda all over the place and I’m so sorry for it being out so late when I said I’d post it over a week ago:( I’ve just been really busy and I’ve had no motivation to write this:( 
> 
> ***please read end notes***

Down the long hallway at the very end of it there was a door being opened. 

Both Tony and Pepper looked up from where they were hugging each other and it was hard to make it out but they could see two people walking down the hallway, towards them. 

It didn’t take long for the two figures to come into view and for Tony to make out that it was in fact Peter. He was walking slowly behind a women that Tony guessed was Peter’s care taker. Peter’s head was down and his shoulders were slumped in on himself. 

His whole face lit up and he pulled away from Pepper so he could walk closer to the child. He suddenly felt the urge to run and pick Peter up but he held back for a little bit longer until Peter looked up and spot him. 

“Peter” Tony said softly. He saw Peter’s head lift up quickly and then his eyes landed on Tony and he ran towards the man with arms open to greet Tony. 

Just as Peter was about to run into Tony’s arms he bent down so he could be more at Peter’s level and then the kid threw himself into his arms. Tony could feel Peter shake against him so he picked him up and stood up straight still holding onto Peter and held him tight. 

“I’m here, Peter. It’s okay now. It’s okay” Tony whispered into Peter’s ear and continued to rock him back and forth. 

“I was s-so s-scared” Peter wrapped his tiny arms around Tony’s neck and whispered to him in his ear. 

Tony’s heart broke. It was his job to protect Peter since he was in his care when he was taken away but he wasn’t able to protect him and it caused so much emotional stress for the child. And that’s what he was, a child. He didn’t deserve everything that happened to him in his short life but Tony promised himself that he would do whatever he has to do now to protect Peter. 

Tony felt Pepper appear beside him. She placed a loving hand over Peter’s back “We’re gonna take you back to the tower now, Peter. It’s okay, honey” 

“His car seat will be given to you at the front desk” Audrey said before she waved bye to them and left. Tony paid no attention to where her and Davis went because he didn’t really care. Peter was safe and with him and that’s all that mattered right now.

Pepper lightly grabbed Tony’s arm and began pulling him away from the hallway and towards the door so they could leave. 

They didn’t wanna spend anymore time in there than they already have. 

Tony held onto Peter tight and began walking with Pepper until they were out of the hallway. Pepper held the door open for the two because Tony’s arms were full so he couldn’t have opened it by himself. He could if he really wanted to but with Pepper here to do it for him then why would he do it by himself. 

“Uh, Mr. Stark?” The front lady at the desk asked hesitantly. When Tony turned his body to look at her she bent down to get something “Um, this is Peter’s car seat” 

Pepper took the liberty of getting the car seat from the woman as Tony was already half way out the door with Peter. He could still feel Peter shaking against him so he just wanted to leave and be at the tower where they were safe. 

“Are-are we going to your house?” Peter asked quietly once they were outside the building. 

“Yeah, Pete” Tony patted him on the back gently “We’re all gonna go back to the tower and we can watch a movie if you want?” 

Peter peeled away from Tony with his tiny hands braced on his shoulders “I wanna watch Brave” 

“We can watch whatever you want” Peter seemed to like that idea because he was quiet again and put his head back on Tony’s shoulder. 

Pepper had been trying to get the car seat in the car but she was kinda struggling so Tony went to help her. He only had one hand to work with but he thought he was doing a pretty good job at it because they eventually got the car seat in. 

When Tony went to go place Peter in his car seat he wrapped his arms and legs tighter around Tony and let out a sad whine “No! Wan’ stay with you!” 

“You are, Peter, but I gotta get you in your car seat first then when we get back to the tower I’ll take you out again. Okay?” Tony waited for Peter to nod his head which look longer than necessary but Tony didn’t blame him because he knew that Peter was exhausted physically and mentally after these last couple of days. 

Tony managed to get Peter in his car seat and buckled him up without and complaining. He gave Peter a reassuring smile and shut the door so he could get in the drivers seat. 

Once inside the car, Tony looked at Pepper and smiled at her weakly. He didn’t know what was gonna happen with them and Peter from here on out, no one knew right now and that scared Tony because he wanted answers. He wanted and liked to know things that were gonna happen so he could be ready for them and prevent all the bad stuff from happening. 

Tony felt helpless in this situation since he was kept in the dark and wouldn’t know anything about what’s gonna happen until it does happen and probably before he has anytime to prepare for the bad things not to happen. 

The car ride was spent in silence for the most part. Tony would check in the review mirror every so often to make sure Peter was still okay and he could see Pepper turning around and looking at him too. 

Peter would say the odd thing at times but Tony thinks that he would only say something just to make sure that Tony and Pepper were both still there even if he had clear view of them. Tony guessed that Peter was probably scared if he was dreaming or something and that none of this is real. 

When they arrived at the tower, Tony pulled into the garage so they had more privacy from all the people that were currently at the tower. 

He got out of the car and opened the back door. Peter was still awake but it looked like he was barely keeping himself awake and Tony knew that he was close to falling asleep because he was watching Peter fall asleep and then jerk himself awake on the ride home. 

“We’re here, buddy. Let’s go watch a movie” Tony undid the buckles and helped Peter out of the car “You still up for a movie?” 

Despite Peter looking ready to fall asleep on the spot he nodded his head. “Can you carry me up?” 

Peter held up his arms hesitantly and Tony would not be able to resist his sad puppy dog face so he obliged and picked Peter up setting him on his hip “Not really convincing, bud. You sure you don’t wanna go to sleep? Have a nap?” 

Tony knew that Peter hadn’t slept a lot last night so he was surprised to see that Peter was fighting sleep so hard. He guessed that it was because Peter was probably scared that if he fell asleep he would wake up and both him and Pepper would be gone. 

“No, I wanna stay with you and Pepper” Peter put his head on Tony’s shoulder. The movement of Tony’s walk was really comforting but he had to stay awake. 

.  
.  
.

Peter was sat between Tony and Pepper. 

Tony had put Brave on for them to watch per Peter’s request. He thought the title of the movie fit perfectly with the situation they were in and how Peter was handling everything. He wondered if that’s why Peter chose this particular movie. 

“Have you seen this movie before, kid?” Tony asked curiously. Peter was leaning against his chest and he could feel Peter’s body get heavier and heavier against him so he’s sure that the kid wasn’t gonna last longer than twenty minutes. 

“Yeah. At least five times but I really like it” Peter said proudly. 

“Well, lucky number six now I guess” Tony hit the play button on the tv remote and relaxed back into the couch. 

It was still early in the day, only about 1pm but he was exhausted as well. He never ever napped or even slept at nights but he really felt exhausted like he could fall asleep right now. 

The movie started playing and Pepper lightly patted Tony’s arm that was draped around the back of the couch so he turned to her “We did it” 

Tony smiled at Pepper. A real genuine smile because although Peter wasn’t legally theirs right now, they were getting there. They were gonna do it.

Not even half way through the movie as Tony predicted, Peter was asleep. 

There was no point in continuing watching the movie because Peter was sleeping and although they would both love to stay here with Peter asleep and continue watching it they had to do other stuff. 

Pepper had to make a bunch of phone calls and emails dealing the the legal aspects of the adoption for Peter and follow up with May and Ben while Tony had to go down to his lab and make some of his own phone calls. 

“I’m gonna carry him up to bed” Tony whispered to Pepper. He slowly stood up and placed his hands behind Peter’s back and under his legs to carry him bridal style to his room. 

“I’ll come with you” Pepper said softly and followed Tony to Peter’s room. Once inside she grabbed the box of pull-ups and opened it up to take one out. “He has to wear one” 

Tony looked between the pull-up and Peter. He knew that the kid had an accident last night while he was at CPS and he would likely have one now but he really didn’t want to wake Peter up to get him to put one on “Let’s leave it for now and give it to him tonight when he goes to bed” 

Pepper thought about it for a few seconds seeming to think about all the pros and cons of Peter not wearing one right now but she really didn’t want to wake the child up right now so if he had an accident they would just deal with it. 

“Alright. After he wakes up we’ll talk to him about it but he can’t sleep for long otherwise it’ll mess up his schedule so in two hours if he’s not already awake we’ll wake him” Pepper knew that Peter would most likely wake up before the two hours is up but just in case she set a reminder to wake him up in two hours. 

Tony placed Peter into his bed getting a flashback from when he did the exact same thing only a day ago. He’s so thankful that now he doesn’t have to worry about Peter getting taken away by CPS again. At least not anytime soon. 

Once Peter was tucked into his bed Tony sat down next to him and brushed his hair back with his hand. Pepper placed her warm loving hand on his shoulder causing Tony to look up at her “I’m gonna go make some calls in my office. Call me if you need me” 

Tony watched her until she was out of sight then he turned his attention back to Peter. Peter looked so young and innocent sleeping there. All the stress from today that he had showing on his face was gone in his sleep making him look even younger and more like the child he’s supposed to be. 

Tony has no idea what’s gonna happen from this point out but whatever happens he’ll always make sure to protect Peter. 

.  
.  
.

Tony woke up to something tapping him on his forehead. 

He slowly opened his eyes not even remembering falling asleep, to Peter looking down at him.

He didn’t know how long they were asleep for but he guessed that it couldn’t have been that long because Pepper would have woken them both up so they didn’t mess up Peter’s sleep schedule but Tony thought that that was ridiculous because Peter had more things to worry about than what his sleeping schedule was right now but Tony didn’t want Peter to have to worry about anything, not even his sleep schedule. 

“Hi” Peter said softly. 

“Hi” Tony sat up a bit and rubbed his eyes with his free hand that wasn’t still wrapped around Peter. “Did you have a bad dream? Why you up, bud?” 

Peter looked away from Tony and began playing with a string that was on Tony’s sleeve. He seemed to think about what he was going to say “Um... I wet the bed” 

Tony couldn’t say he was surprised but he knew not to freak out or yell at Peter because that wouldn’t help the situation and Pepper was probably right about the pull-ups which they would have to talk to Peter about later.

“Oh, it’s okay, bud” Tony moved to get off the bed but Peter grabbed onto him tightly “I’m just gonna get off the bed so we can get cleaned up” 

Peter paused for a second before letting go of Tony’s arm and slowly getting off the bed himself. Tony now noticed the wet patch on his pants and he felt so bad for Peter. He should have listened to Pepper. 

“How about you go in the shower while I change the sheets then we can go watch a movie together?” Tony suggested not sure whether Peter would want him to help or not. 

“Okay” Peter nodded his head and slowly started making his way towards the bathroom but he paused in the doorway and turned back to Tony “Are you gonna stay here?” 

“Do you want me to?” 

Peter nodded his head. Tony smiled warmly at him “Then I’ll stay here” 

Peter seemed content with that answer so he disappeared into the bathroom but kept the door open. Tony turned his attention back onto changing Peter’s sheets for him which didn’t take that long so he got out Peter’s clean pyjamas and knocked on the bathroom door “Hey, bud. I have your clean pyjamas here for you that I’m gonna leave on the toilet seat for when you get out of the shower. Are you okay in there?” 

Tony thought that Peter was taking quite a long time in there but he didn’t want to say anything and rush him. 

Peter ignored the question and asked a question of his own “Are you gonna wait for me still?” 

Tony placed the pyjamas on the toilet seat and turned to the shower that was now all foggy from the heat “Yep. Still here” 

“O-okay. I’m done now” Peter shut the shower off and opened the glass door, standing there shivering so Tony quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the kid. “I’m sorry for peeing in the bed again but I didn’t mean to” 

Tony continued rubbing Peter’s shoulder gently as he led him towards the toilet seat where his pyjamas were “Peter. Never be sorry for something like that. Pepper and I would never get mad at you for doing that, Pete” 

Peter nodded his head but he still didn’t look convinced that he wasn’t gonna get in trouble for wetting the bed and Tony knew that it was because of his Aunt and Uncle that probably screamed and yelled at him every time he had an accident but Tony and Pepper weren’t gonna do that. They would never do that to Peter.

“I want you to get changed into some pyjamas and then we’ll go watch a movie together, okay bud?” Tony handed the pyjamas to Peter who took them in his hands slowly. “I’ll be in the bedroom when you’re done” 

Tony left Peter to change and he could tell that Peter still wasn’t his normal self but then again, Tony never really knew what his normal self was but he would eventually. 

Tony and Pepper would both work together and make sure that they can give Peter an actual childhood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hii guys so I just wanna let you guys know that I’m leaving for vacation tomorrow so I won’t be writing or posting anything for 2-3 weeks:( 
> 
> I just wanted to let you know just so you don’t think I’ve abandoned this fic because I promise I won’t I just won’t be posting anytime soon
> 
> I’ll see you guys eventually thooo:))


	20. If you’re the sun then I’m the moon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m backkkk!!! I feel like I never left but at the same time I feel like I’ve been gone for years. Anyways during my trip I fell off the balcony of the hotel the first night and now I have huge bruises on my leg and the last day at the beach I got stung by a jelly fish 
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter

The day was going fine until it wasn’t. 

Pepper tried to sit down and watch the whole movie with Peter and Tony but she could barely stay for half of it because she had to run down to her office and answer a bunch of phone calls and emails. Tony stayed with Peter for the whole movie and then they watched another one after that. 

Tony’s butt and back was numb. Practically his whole body had fallen asleep and was numb but he didn’t move because Peter was giggling along to the movie they were watching that had a bunch of dogs and cats running around. Tony was sure that it was some type of Disney movie that was picked for Peter by FRIDAY so he didn’t mind watching it as long as it made Peter happy. 

They were about to start watching a third movie when Pepper walked into the living room and announced that it was time for the two boys to stop watching movies and to get ready for dinner time but Peter started freaking out and crying for no reason screaming that he didn’t want to eat dinner and he wanted to continue watching movies with Tony. 

Tony and Pepper were surprised to say the least. 

Despite everything that Peter has gone through and still continues to go through, he’s a good kid. He’s a great kid so it’s really hard for the two adults to process Peter freaking out like that. 

Peter ran off to the guest bedroom that was currently his while Tony and Pepper just stared at each other in complete and utter shock. 

Tony had to gather his thoughts together before he spoke “What just happened?” 

Pepper shook her head in confusion “I have no idea. Wasn’t he just fine watching a movie with you?” 

“Yes! That’s why I’m confused” Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. “Should we go check on him?” 

Tony has no idea what to do but he didn’t think it was a good idea to leave Peter right now inside his room alone after what just happened so he thought that they should at least try to check up on the kid. Just to make sure he hasn’t tried to hurt himself either by accident or on purpose. 

“I think you should go check on him” Pepper said “He was fine until I walked in the room so you should just go. I’ll stay here” 

Tony picked up on Peppers soft tone and how she sounded kinda sad. He knew that she probably felt horrible, thinking she did something to make Peter freak out and run away like that but Tony knew it wasn’t her fault at all and even if it was then he knew she didn’t do anything on purpose. 

“It’s not your fault, Pep” Tony places his hand on her shoulder as she sat down on the couch “He probably just got scared over something” 

Pepper just nodded her head and gave Tony a weak reassuring smile “I know” 

“I’ll go check up on him” Tony then left to go follow the crying and screaming kid upstairs where he ran to. 

Tony has no idea what happened to him and caused him to run away and he had no idea what he would find once he went into the kid’s bedroom or how to handle the situation but he would try his best to not freak out and stay calm for Peter. He needed to stay calm for Peter. 

When Tony got to Peter’s bedroom door, he tried to listen in to hear if he could hear any crying or any kinds of noises that were coming from the other side of the bedroom door but he couldn’t hear anything and Tony wasn’t sure if that scared him more than hearing something because at least if he heard something he could tell that Peter was still in there and was okay. 

Tony took a calming breath before he knocked on the door “Peter? It’s Tony. Can I come in?” 

Tony waited for an answer on the other side but he didn’t hear anything so he slowly turned the door handle and stepped into the bedroom. He looked around and tried to find Peter but he couldn’t find him anywhere. 

Now he was starting to freak out a bit. “Peter? Bud? Where are you?” 

Tony listened again and held his breath to try and hear the smallest of sounds and it worked because he heard a peep from under the bed so he slowly vent down and lifted the blankets up to see under. 

There Peter was on his stomach with tear stains on his face, looking up at Tony with wide fearful eyes. Tony calmed down at seeing that Peter was okay… physically but maybe not so much mentally. 

“What happened, buddy?” Tony asked. There was no reason for Peter to freak out the way he did but then again Tony and Pepper didn’t know Peter that much to say what is a normal and not normal reaction from him but they would soon learn. They would get there eventually. 

Peter seemed to think about whether or not he should crawl over to Tony or if he should back away from the man and Tony saw his internal struggle so he held his hand out slowly for Peter to take. 

“You can come out from under there, Pete. No ones gonna hurt you” Tony said slowly and it worked because soon enough, Peter was making his way out from under the bed. 

Once Peter was out, Tony sat down on the bed but didn’t touch Peter it ask him to sit next to him. He wanted Peter to make that choice for himself with what he wanted to do. 

“Why did you run away, buddy?” Tony asked “Did you get scared?” 

Tony waited patiently for Peter to start talking and after a few long seconds he did. “Um, no, I thought-I thought Pepper w-was gonna take you away from m-me and I didn’t wan’ her to” 

Tony was not expecting Peter to have freaked out over something like that but he found it really cute “Peter, you know Pepper would never do that. She wants what’s best for you and so do I so she didn’t mean to scare you like that, bud” 

Peter just nodded his head and stood with his hands behind his back and even though Tony couldn’t see his hands he knew that Peter was busy playing with his fingers out of a nervous habit. 

“Are-are you mad at me?” Peter asked with a small voice that Tony could barely hear. There was no way he could be mad at Peter. Ever. 

“No, I’d never be mad at you, Peter” Tony reassured him “Pepper either” 

Peter just nodded his head and slowly started moving towards Tony on the bed and Tony knew that he wanted some kind of physical affection now so he went to go pick Peter up before thinking about something “Can I pick you up and take you into the kitchen?” 

Peter smiled weakly and nodded his head so Tony stood up himself and picked Peter up into his arms while he stood up straight. Peter was a lot smaller for his age so holding in his arms right now wasn’t really hard for Tony to do. Peter fit in like he belonged there. 

Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and relaxed into his arms as Tony carried him out of the bedroom and down to the kitchen where Pepper was found just getting started on dinner which looked to be pancakes. 

“Look who I found upstairs” Tony called out to Pepper as he stepped into the kitchen holding Peter with one arm on his hip. Pepper turned around and looked at Peter sadly. 

Is he okay? Pepper mouthed to Tony since Peter couldn’t see because his back was facing her. 

He’s fine. Just scared. Tony mouthed back. 

“Well,” Pepper started “I decided that tonight we could make some pancakes for dinner. Like a sort of breakfast for dinner this thing” 

Tony hoisted Peter a bit on his hip to get his attention, “How does that sound, Pete?” 

Peter lifted his head out from Tony’s neck and looked between Pepper and the pancake batter before smiling. “Can we put chocolate chips in the pancakes?” 

“We can do whatever you want, Honey” Pepper said which Tony made a noise of content at because yeah sure give the nine year old all the power. 

Tony waited for Pepper to look away before he leaned over to whisper in Peter’s ear “Tell her to use the whole bag of chocolate chips and I’ll let you stay up an extra hour tonight” 

Peter held his hand out for Tony to shake “Deal!” 

“What are you two boys up to?” Pepper knew her cheeky boys were up to something strange. 

Tony spun around the kitchen and placed Peter on the counter so he could sit there and held Pepper with the cooking as he spoke “Hmm nothing you have to worry about my dear” 

Peter giggled and then got to work. 

.  
.  
.

After dinner, Tony opened a box of legos for Peter to play with so he could distract him enough for him and Pepper to go talk in private about a few things dealing with Peter, the adoption and Peter’s Aunt and Uncle. 

Tony didn’t want Peter to be apart of this conversation unless it was absolutely necessary for him to be which Tony knew the time would come but he didn’t want the time to ever come so Peter didn’t have to deal with that anymore and he can leave it behind in his life and move on with the help from Tony and Pepper. 

Pepper dragged Tony over to the entrance of the hallway where they could still see Peter in case something happened and he needed them but they were still too far away for Peter to actually hear them. 

“I got word on what’s happening with Ben and May Parker” Pepper started “They were both brought in for questioning and a court date is being held to either find them guilt or not” 

Tony just nodded along and didn’t say anything yet so Pepper could continue “These things could take days or even years but the police want to know if Peter will be testifying. It would-“ 

“No. Absolutely not” Tony would not put Peter through anymore of this bullshit. “They can go to court for however long it takes but I will not have Peter go through that. They put him through enough!” 

Pepper placed her hand on Tony’s arm to calm him down before he got himself worked up. “It’s just an idea. If Peter testifies then he can prove them guilty and send them off to prison but if he doesn’t testify then who knows how long this process will really take” 

“If he doesn’t testify then he gets to stay away from all that shit that he’s already been through so much of” Tony explained to Pepper angrily “No way is Peter going up on that stand. No way.” 

Pepper nodded her head. She didn’t want Peter going up on that stand anyways even if it would make the case go by faster but they should still let Peter have a say in it. “I agree with you but we need to explain this to Peter and let him see what he wants” 

Tony just nodded his head because he didn’t really know what else to say. He wanted to prevent Peter from getting involved but it was inedible. 

“Whatcha building there, Pete?” Tony faked his smile so it wouldn’t scare Peter how incredibly scared he was. 

Peter didn’t look up to notice the fake smile as he continued putting more LEGO pieces on the top of what looked like a castle. “I’m building a dragons castle” 

Tony sat on the couch next to Pepper and gently ran his hands through Peter’s hair “That’s really cool, buddy but how about you stop doing that for a second and come and sit next to us for a second so we can talk to you” 

Peter immediately stopped what he was doing and looked up at Tony and Pepper with wide scared eyes. Tony hated that look. 

“Am I in trouble?” Peter asked concerned. 

Tony shook his head “No, buddy. We just want to talk to you about something important” 

Peter still looked scared but he nodded his head anyways and sat on the ottoman in front of the two adults and waited for them to start talking. 

Pepper started “As you know, Peter, your Aunt and Uncle aren’t very good people. They were very mean to you right?” 

Peter nodded his head in confirmation. Pepper continued “Well, baby, because your Aunt and Uncle aren’t very nice people they are going to go to court and talk in front of a judge and then the judge is gonna decide if they are bad people” 

Pepper paused to let everything she just said process in Peter’s mind before continuing “We just want to know if you also want to talk in front of the judge to try and convince them. You’d have to tell them what your Uncle and Aunt did to you” 

Peter looked confused as he tried to think about what to say “Well… Uncle Bens a bad man and Auntie May… she didn’t touch me here,” 

Peter pointed to his crotch area and Tony has to squeeze the pillow to stop himself from flipping out. 

Peter continued “only Uncle Ben does that” 

Tony shook his head “He did that. Past tense. He doesn’t touch you anymore, Peter. You’re safe” 

Pepper nodded her head “Yeah, baby, you’re safe now but we just wanted to know if you wanted to talk in front of the judge in the courtroom?” 

Peter seemed to think about it once again and Tony wanted so badly to tell him to say no but he had to keep quiet. “Do you think I should?” 

Tony looked at Peter who was staring at him with questionable eyes but he just shrugged “I want you to do what you want to do, kid” 

“Will Aunt May and Uncle Ben be there?” Peter asked with fear in his voice and Tony wanted to hold him and never ever let go. 

Pepper nodded “Yes. They’ll be there in the courtroom” 

“Then…” Peter paused for a few seconds, “I don’t want to go. If that’s okay with you guys?” 

A bunch of weight got lifted off of Tony’s shoulders it felt like “It’s okay with us, buddy. It’s more than okay with us” 

Peter looked content with his answer because he made Tony and Pepper happy and Tony hated the way Peter only looked happy like that if he made someone else happy because what about Peter’s happiness? What about Peter’s innocence and happiness? 

.  
.  
.

Tony and Pepper has been secretly discussing how to bring up the talk of Peter needing to wear a pull-up tonight to him. 

They didn’t want him to completely freak out and hide under the bed again if he didn’t like the idea of him having to wear a pull-up at his age but from what Tony saw in Peter’s bedroom in his old apartment with May and Ben then Tony is pretty sure that Peter is probably used to wearing them and he wouldn’t mind. 

Peter is currently finishing up his lego dragon castle but he wasn’t gonna get a chance to finish it today because it was already past his bedtime after Tony promised him an extra hour before bed to stay up later than usual. 

“Pete,” Tony bent down to Peter’s level “It’s time for bed so how about you finish building your dragon castle tomorrow?” 

Peter looked at Tony but looked away from him right after and continued building “You said I get my extra hour of awake time” 

Tony laughed at the kids way of saying that “I did give you your extra hour, buddy. It’s nine” 

Peter still ignored Tony and continued to build his castle so Tony sighed and picked the kid up in his arms. Every time Tony picked Peter up or touched him, he was also scared that he was gonna trigger something and cause Peter to freak out but thankfully it didn’t happen that often. 

Peter sighed dramatically and let Tony carry him to his bedroom where he placed him on the bathroom floor and started filling up the tub so a bath. Peter went to grab his toys from under the sink but Tony stopped him “No bath toys tonight. It’s a quick bath then into bed” 

Peter crossed his arms in a pout but Tony ignored him. He knew that if he gave in then Peter would get his way and Tony couldn’t have that. 

“Take off your clothes and then you can get in, Pete” Tony spoke without even thinking about what he was saying first. 

Peter took a step back in panic and shook his head “No” 

“Oh, shi- I’m sorry, Pete” Tony really messed up this one so he tried to calm Peter down before he started freaking out again. “I didn’t mean it like that… I’ll leave while you have your bath-“ 

“No. Don’t leave” Peter looked between Tony and the bath before he made sure the bathroom door was wide open in case he needed to make a run for it. He then slowly took off his shirt and then his pants and underwear as Tony pretended to be busy with the drain to at least give Peter some privacy. 

“I’m ready to go in now” Tony turned to look at Peter who had undressed and let him get into the bath. 

Tony helped Peter wash his hair as gentle as possible which Tony actually really enjoyed doing. He loved Peter’s soft baby curls and seeing Peter so relaxed and trusting made Tony feel really good about himself because he knew that Peter trusted him. 

After Peter’s bath, Tony waited for Pepper to come into the bedroom to help talk to Peter about wearing a pull-up for tonight. 

“Before you get your pyjamas on we’re gonna go sit on the bed for a sec” Tony gently held Peter’s hand and pulled him out into his bedroom where Pepper already was. “We need to talk to you” 

Peter sighed the best way a child could “Again? You already talked to me” 

Both the adults laughed. “Yes but this is about something else” 

Tony nodded along with Pepper and waited for her to explain the part to Peter where he has to put a pull-up on at nine years old because he keeps wetting the bed. 

“Peter, you know that we’re not mad at you and this isn’t a punishment but Tony and I had decided that until you can stop having accidents at night that you have to wear pull-ups to bed” Pepper explained slowly. 

They both tried to read Peter to see how he was gonna react to this but he didn’t seem all that surprised. Like he had been expecting this. 

“Okay… I always wear pull-ups to bed anyways” Peter shrugged his shoulders and looked around the room trying to find where the pull-ups were. 

Tony went into the bathroom to get them and came back out with them. They had cars on them because that was the only ones that looked somewhat decent for a nine year old boy. The other options were cartoon characters that Tony was not about to order and gave Peter wear. 

Tony opened up the packaging and pulled one out for Peter. “Do you need help putting it on?” 

Peter shook his head and dropped his towel so he could show Tony and Pepper that he was fully capable of putting the pull-up on without any help. 

“I always wear them at Aunt Mays and Uncle Bens house so I know how to put them on” Tony likes how Peter didn’t reefer to his old apartment as his home or anything like that. “But can you help me after when… after I have an accident?” 

“Of course I’ll help you after, buddy. Don’t be afraid to wake me or Pepper up to help you” Peter nodded his head and relaxed at what Tony said because it wasn’t like that in his old apartment. 

Uncle Ben and Aunt May got him the pull-ups to wear so he would stop waking them up with all his accidents in the middle of the night and when would he would wet his pull-up they still wouldn’t help him. They would force him to spend the rest of the night in the used pull-up causing him to wake up with a sore and red private area that he would later get in trouble for every time Ben wanted to touch him down there. 

Tony and Pepper were nice about it though and he wasn’t scared to have an accident because if he did he would get a clean fresh pull-up afterwards. 

Peter looked up at Tony thankfully. He was so happy that they found him and let him stay with them. 

“Do you wanna put your pyjamas on now?” Tony asked him pulling him out of his thoughts. Peter quickly grabbed his pyjamas from Tony and put them on them hopped into bed. 

For once in his life, Peter knew what happiness felt like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it!! 
> 
> I’m a little lost with where to take this fic... I’m thinking of either writing a bunch more chapters and take it further with all my ideas that I can expand on but I don’t want it make it boring. Or I’m thinking of finishing it up and writing like 2-4 more chapters.... idkkk yet I’m just really confused


	21. Our family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii guys!!! It’s been forever since I posted and I’m sorry! I wanted so badly to post this like a week ago but I didn’t finish the chapter On time because I’ve recently started writing a new fic that I am in LOVE with so it might be awhile before I post another chapter for this fic or it might not be... idk yet:) 
> 
> Anyways enjoy reading:)

Peter woke up in the middle of the night to a nightmare. 

It wasn’t that bad but it was bad enough for him to wake up from it and want some comfort. It took a few moments for Peter to gather his surroundings and remember where he was. 

He was in a bedroom at Tony Stark's tower. Maybe even his bedroom… or soon to be bedroom. Either way Peter was safe but he still wanted to have some comfort. 

Peter mentally debated if he should get out of bed and wake up Tony and Pepper. He didn’t want to seem like such a baby in front of them but he really needed someone to comfort him right now before he freaks out anymore than he already is. 

That’s when Peter made the decision to go and wake Tony and Pepper up. 

He slowly got out of his bed and let his legs dangle off the side of his bed with the cool night air hitting his legs. Peter thought about getting back into his warm bed but he knew if he did that then he wouldn’t make another move to go to Tony’s and Peppers bedroom and right now that’s what he wanted to do. That’s what he needed to do so he didn’t start to panic anymore. 

Peter began moving to the bedroom door but he was still really scared because it was dark in his bedroom so he tried to best not to step on anything or bump into anything on his way to the door. 

Once Peter made it to the bedroom door, he opened it and thankfully the hallway light lit up a pathway for him to be able to see how to get to their bedroom. 

Peter hugged his arms around his stomach to try and self comfort until someone else could do that for him. 

He just wanted to be in Tony’s safe arms right now. 

With that in mind, Peter didn’t wait any longer. He began walking quickly until he was outside of Tony and Pepper’s bedroom door. He knew they said that if he needed them then he could go and get them but Peter still couldn’t help but feel like a baby. He didn’t want them to be mad at him for going to their room and waking them up in the middle of the night, even if they said he could. 

Now that Peter was mentally debating with himself, he was gonna give up and make his way back to his bedroom but a loud noise came from down the hall so he quickly opened their bedroom door, running inside and shutting it behind him. 

The bedroom was dark. Even darker than Peter’s bedroom was which was really really scary. Peter didn’t like the dark because bar people could hurt him in the dark. Bad people have hurt him in the dark. 

Peter didn’t mean to make a sound but his mouth made a whimper which caused Tony to move on the bed. Peter quickly made his way to the man's side of the bed and poke Tony in the side. 

The bed was really tall so Peter wasn’t sure he would be able to even get on the bed without grabbing onto the blankets and waking everyone up. 

Peter poked Tony in the side again and let another whimper escape his lips. Tony sat up in bed and looked to the side to see who was in his bedroom. He relaxed when he saw that it was only Peter. 

“Pete? What’s wrong?” Tony asked. He ran a hand over his face and checked the time on his phone showing it was 4:34am. 

“Um, I’m, I’m sorry” Peter hugged his arms around himself. “I didn’t mean to-to wake you” 

Tony couldn’t really see Peter in the dark but he could still make out that the kid had his arms wrapped around himself and was shaking. Tony tried to think of why Peter would have come into his room in the middle of the night then he thought of why. 

“Did you have an accident? Do you need to get changed?” Tony asked slowly. He tried to think if he had any extra pull-ups in his room but he didn’t do that sucked. 

Peter totally forgot about the pull-up. His pyjama pants and his bed wasn’t wet when he woke up so he didn’t even think about if he had wet the bed. Now that he thinks about it, Peter can feel that his pull-up is full so he did in fact have an accident but he wasn’t worried about that right now. 

“Um, I just had a nightmare” Peter said slowly. He had just burst into Tony’s bedroom in the middle of the night but for some reason he was feeling a bit shy right now to ask for some comfort. 

Tony could tell that Peter wasn’t telling him everything and he wasn’t quite sure what to do so he did what he thought would be best. “Do you want to come up here and tell me what your nightmare was about?” 

Peter nodded his head and began to climb up onto the bed with the help from Tony grabbing his arms. 

Once Peter was on the bed, he crawled between Tony and Pepper and sat there awkwardly. He wasn’t sure what he should be doing next but he decided to wait for Tony. 

Tony wasn’t sure what he should do either. He wanted to try his best to comfort Peter but he didn’t know if Peter wanted that so he took a chance. 

He slowly and gently placed his hand on Peter’s shoulders, waiting for him to flinch away or freak out but he didn’t. Peter just leaned more into the touch until his head was on Tony’s shoulder. 

Tony pulled back the blankets for Peter to crawl into for the warmth and he did. Tony then lied down so Peter could lay down as well and put his head on the mans chest. 

“Want to tell me what your nightmare was about?” Tony asked. The arm that wasn’t wrapped around Peter, he used it to play with the kids hair which Tony found was relaxing to not only Peter but him as well. 

Peter tensed a bit at the question. He didn’t want to talk about his dream. It wasn’t that bad, he’s had worse but he still didn’t want to talk about it. 

Tony rubber his shoulder gently “It’s okay, bud, you don’t have to talk about it. How about we just sleep?” 

Peter nodded his head. That sounded like a good idea. 

.  
.  
.

When Pepper woke up in the morning, the first thing she felt was the early sun hitting her on the face and the second thing she felt was a warm presence pushed into her side. 

Before she even opened her eyes, she knew that the warm presence was too small to be Tony. Plus the fact that he never slept so close to her unless they were falling asleep cuddling each other after a long day but after that he would move to his own side of the bed. 

Confused, Pepper opened her eyes and let the sunlight adjust before she could make out what was going on. 

Once she was able to see the first thing she noticed was that Peter was in their bed sleeping between the two. He had his butt pressed against her side while his arms were stretched out and holding onto the front of Tony’s shirt who was also fast asleep. 

Peter’s body was bent in a c-shaped so Pepper was able to see that Peter’s pull-up was in fact very full but she didn’t know what to do about that. She didn’t want to try and change him while he was asleep because she didn’t know how Peter would react to that as well as the fact that she didn’t want to wake the kid up. She also wasn’t sure if she should be leaving him to sit in that thing for such a long time but Pepper figured that a few more hours wouldn’t hurt. 

Pepper slowly got off the bed, careful not to wake up the boys as she went into the bathroom and got ready for the day. 

.  
.  
.

When Tony woke up it was because the sun was shining very brightly on his face and because he felt a slight tug on the front of his T-shirt. 

When Tony opened his eyes he saw that Peter was sleeping in front of him and holding onto his shirt with a fisted small hand. 

Tony suddenly remembered everything that happened last night and how Peter came into their room to get comfort because he had a bad dream. 

Tony was proud of Peter for doing that. He knew it must have been really difficult for the boy to adjust to a new life where he was allowed to get comfort and where he was allowed to sleep with his… parent… figures. 

Either way, Tony was proud of Peter for doing that so he would have to make sure to tell him that some time today after he woke up. 

Tony made his way off the bed after he tucked Peter in some more and shut the blinds so that Peter could sleep for a few more hours. He knew the kid had a hard night so he wanted to try his best to give him all the hours of missed sleep he could. 

Tony noticed that Pepper was gone and already awake, he figured that she woke up awhile ago and went down to her office to deal with some stuff. 

So after Tony got ready in the bathroom and made his way into the kitchen to make himself his first cup of coffee, his first cup of many, he was surprised to see Pepper sitting at the kitchen counter drinking her own cup of coffee and on her phone. 

“Oh, hi” Tony greeted “How long have you been up?” 

“About an hour” Pepper put her phone down to give Tony her full attention “I woke up to Peter’s butt in my side” 

Tony smiled as he poured his own coffee but then he thought that maybe he should have told Pepper last night that he brought Peter into their bed in the middle of the night. “Oh sorry about that. He came in because he had a nightmare so I let him sleep with us” 

Pepper waved him off. “It’s fine, Tony. I don’t mind. I just didn’t expect it, that’s all but I did notice that his pull-up was quite full so I didn’t really know what to do about that” 

Tony turned around and leaned against the counter with his coffee “Oh, shit. That might be my fault because when he came into our room last night it was already needing a change but I didn’t…” 

“It’s not your fault. We just have to work on that next time” Pepper said. “Hopefully the bed wetting comes to a stop soon so he doesn’t have to wear them anymore” 

Tony nodded. He didn’t exactly know how all that worked but they would all learn together. He decided to change the subject “Anymore news on May and Ben?” 

Pepper paused her drinking for a few seconds before looking down sadly. “Both are in lock up and awaiting their trial date” 

Tony nodded. “Did the lawyer’s say anything about Peter testifying?” 

“No. It’s Peter’s decision and if he doesn’t want to then that’s fully up to him no matter what” Pepper said. Peter was only a child who had already been through so much in his short life so far and she wanted to keep Peter away from all that as much as possible. 

“I know and that’s why I didn’t want him in that courtroom” Tony agreed “He needs to get better before he sees his Aunt and Uncle again but if he never wants to ever again then I’m okay with that. I’m more than okay with that, if he never wants to see the man who molested him while his Aunt stood there and watched” 

Pepper could see that Tony was getting upset so she tried to calm him down before he worked himself into a panic but it wasn’t working because Tony was already going at it again. “That poor kid was supposed to trust them to take care of him and protect him and they go and do some fucked up shit to him-“ 

“Tony” Pepper said calmly to get Tony to calm down “What happened, happened and it sucks but you need to calm down because if Peter needs you then you need to be there for him now” 

Tony sighed and put his head in his hands. He knows that, he knows he has to be there for Peter and he wants to. He wants nothing more than that-

“I want to adopt him” Tony said “I want to tell him today that we are gonna adopt him then I want it finalized” 

“You want to tell him today?” Pepper clarified. She was 100% on board with it. 

“Yes. I want him to know that we’re gonna be here for him forever and I don’t want him to be scared that we’re gonna send him away somewhere or something” Tony looked at Pepper with pleading eyes. “After he wakes up I want to drive to that lake that we all went to a few days ago and I want to tell him” 

Pepper smoked at Tony. She tried to say yes but the words weren’t coming out of her mouth so she got off her chair, rounded the table and hugged Tony. 

They stayed hugging for a few seconds then as if on cue, Peter walked into the kitchen still dressed in his pyjamas, looking uncomfortable. 

Tony and Pepper pulled away from their hug and looked down at their new visitor who just walked in. 

“Um, hi” Peter said shyly. He was looking at the ground and shifting uncomfortably. 

“Good morning, Pete, you hungry?” Tony asked. He opened up the fridge and began looking for something that Peter might want to eat. 

Peter shifted uncomfortably again and looked up at Pepper then looked down. Pepper could tell that Peter was uncomfortable and wanted to change first so she decided to speak up so Peter didn’t have to. 

“I think you should go help Peter change while I get some breakfast ready” Pepper patted Tony on the back as she moved behind him to get access to the fridge. 

Tony wanted to slap himself for not realizing why Peter was acting to shy and moving around. “Oh, okay, bud, let’s go” 

Peter followed Tony into his bedroom but started standing there awkwardly once again as Tony began finding outfits for him to change into. “You can go into the bathroom and take it off while I find you something to wear. Do you need any help?” 

Peter shook his head as he started making his way into the bathroom “No. I can d-do it” 

As Peter went into the bathroom, Tony made sure to find some nice clothes for Peter to wear for their big day ahead. He then waited for Peter to come out but he never did so Tony knocked on the door. “You okay in there, kid?” 

“Um… can you help me?” Peter asked softly. 

Tony opened the door and walked in. He saw Peter standing there awkwardly “Do you need help turning the shower on?” 

Peter shook his head but moved closer to the shower anyways. “Can you hold the shower handle for me so I don’t have to take my shirt off?” 

Tony threw the used pull-up in the garage as he went to take the shower handle off the holder and held it for Peter so he could quickly rinse off while Tony pretended to be busy looking at the toilet to give Peter some privacy. 

After Peter was done, he dried himself off then put on the clothes that Tony picked out for him to wear today. It was a yellow top with science symbols on it and blue jeans that had a bee on the back pocket. 

“What are we gonna do today?” Peter asked as they walked into the kitchen. He was skipping next to Tony so he could keep up with the mans long strides as compared to his smaller ones but also because he really enjoyed skipping. 

“Hmm, I don’t know yet” Tony lied. He knew exactly what they’re going to be doing today. 

.  
.  
.

Breakfast was messy if Tony had to describe it in one word. Peter had somehow managed to get syrup down the front of his shirt so he had to go change into a blue long sleeve shirt with a train on the front of it. 

“Are we going to McDonald’s?” Peter asked excitedly. He was back to skipping next to Tony again as they walked through Tony’s garage, trying to find the right car to drive out to the lakeside with. 

Tony and Pepper had told Peter that they wanted to take him somewhere special for a surprise and for some reason Peter kept on thinking that the surprise had something to do with getting food at a fast food place such as McDonald’s. 

“Nope. You’ll never guess it so I suggest you save your voice and get into your car seat” Tony jokingly threatened the kid. 

Peter stuck his tongue out at Tony which resulted in Tony doing it back to him but Pepper was way too mature to join in. “Will you two boys stop and get in the car please?” 

“You heard, Pep. Get your butt in the car” Tony joker and pushed Peter gently causing Peter to give Tony his best dirty look which actually just looked absolutely adorable. 

“Hey! And you too” Peter shot back but got into the car anyways and moved his hands so Tony could do up the car seat buckles for him. 

“I would if I didn’t have to strap you in” Tony jokes but Peter must have have he was being serious because he bowed his head and sighed. 

“I’m sorry” Peter said sadly, looking at his hands in his lap. 

Tony was not about to have none of that today. He gently tilted Peter’s chin forward and smiled at the boy when they made eye contact “Hey, don’t be sorry, buddy. I was just messing with you” 

“... okay” Peter said unsure. Tony poked the kid in the stomach which caused him to let out a giggle which Tony mentally fist bumped himself for. 

They were driving for about forty-five minutes and Tony could have sworn the last time they drove to this lake the drive wasn’t that long. Maybe it was because this time he just wanted to be there already and he couldn’t wait any longer. 

Peter and Pepper had played many games so far during their going on one hour now car ride. First it was a license plate game then it moved to eye spy and now it was back on the license plate game. 

Tony was more content to drive while he listened in one Peter and Pepper playing the game and laughing away with each other. Occasionally he would say something that would make Peter burst out laughing and he was in love with that sound. 

“Finally we’re here” Tony announced as he pulled into the long dirt road that led to the lake. Hopefully it was empty and there were no cars there but even if there was it wouldn’t ruin the moment at all. 

“Hey! I remember this place!” Peter peeked his head out the window and announced excitedly. “We’ve been here before” 

Tony put the car in park in front of the lake. Thankfully there were no other cars or people around so they were alone. Probably because it was really cold out and no one would be walking to this part of the lake at this time of the day. 

“Yeah, you’re right. We have” Tony said to Peter as he glanced over at Pepper. She nodded her head saying she was ready without having to actually say it. “Peter, come sit up here with us for a sec, bud” 

Tony looked at Peter in the rearview mirror and Tony couldn’t stop himself from laughing at the face that Peter made. “I can’t. I’m strapped in” 

Tony took off his own seatbelt and reached in the back seat, quickly letting Peter out of his seat “Sorry, bud. There you go now come sit up front with us” 

Tony sat back in his seat so he could wait for Peter to come sit in his lap. Peter popped his head in between the centre “But there’s nowhere for me to sit” 

“Come sit with me” Tony held out his arms for Peter who immediately smiled happily once he saw that he got to sit with Tony. 

Peter climbed over to Tony with the help from the man lifting his legs over so he could be seated comfortably on the man's lap. 

He leaned his head against Tony’s chest and smiled because it he really paid attention he could hear Tony’s heart beat. 

“Peter, Tony and I have something really important we want to tell you. Well actually ask you” Pepper smiled lovingly at the child seated on Tony’s lap. 

Peter didn’t really like the sound of that too much. He hated when grownups had to talk to him. “Um, okay” 

Tony could tell that Peter was feeling scared so he ran his fingers through his hair to try and calm him but it was actually helping to calm his own nerves since Tony was feeling actually really nervous about the whole situation and he never felt this way. 

Tony glanced at Pepper one more time before saying it. She smiled at him so he began “Peter, Pepper and I want to know if you’d let us adopt you?” 

Tony felt Peter tense on his lap for a few seconds. Tony was scared that he said the wrong thing and that he was gonna scare Peter away but then the kid moved away from him. Peter glanced between Pepper and Tony a few times. 

“You-you want to adopt me?” Peter asked. Tony was unsure how the kid was feeling or thinking. 

“Yeah. We do, if you want us to” Tony explained. 

“Like-like adopt me as in make me yours? As in I’d-I’d be with y-you guys forever and-and never have to leave?” Peter sounded on the verge of tears as he spoke. 

“Yeah, you’d come to live with us forever” Tony explained, trying to understand what was going on in Peter’s mind. He could feel the kid shaking on his lap but he didn’t want to touch him right now. 

“That’s right and we’ll love and protect you no matter what” Pepper added on and Tony could tell she was about to cry as well. 

Peter let out a sob and started nodding his head aggressively “Yes! Y-yes, I-I-I want you to a-adopt me” 

Tony didn’t waste anymore time, he wrapped Peter up in his arms and felt his eyes starting to burn as he moved closer to Pepper so she could join in on the hug. 

“T-thank you! I’m-I’m so happy b-b-because I never wan’ l-leave you guys” Peter cried out in between happy sobs. Tony sat back with him after their hug was over and pressed a kiss to his kids temple. 

“We love you so much, Peter. Nothing will ever change that” Tony said firmly. He needed Peter to know that. 

Peter nodded his head and tried to say something but he was crying too much so Tony rubbed his back to try and get him to calm down a bit. 

“How about we go walk by the lake?” Pepper suggested. She didn’t want Peter to work himself into a panic attack from all the emotions. 

Both boys nodded so she got out of the car and went around the other side to hug Peter once he got out of the car and waited for Tony to get out as well. 

Once he was out of the car, Peter lifted his arms up so Tony could hold him again which Tony didn’t complain about since he wanted to hold Peter close as well. 

Tony picked Peter up and held his butt with his hands as Peter wrapped his legs around his waist and his arms around his neck. 

Tony was able to hold Peter with one hand so he could hold onto Pepper’s hand with the other as he whispered in her ear. “I can’t wait to start our life as a family now”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg soo I went to the doctors and fainted and it was crazy!! I also have a job at a daycare and today was my first day and I LOVEEE it soooo much omg!!!! 
> 
> Hopefully I’ll see you guys in another week for another update but I don’t know yet


	22. And I’ll hold you in my arms forever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! Is this really it?! The last chapter! I feel so many emotions right now because I’m so sad that this fic is ending but it’s time
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it:)

It has been a week since Tony and Pepper had asked Peter if he wanted them to adopt him. 

A lot has changed since then. 

It was Sunday night and Peter was getting ready for his first day back to school since everything happened. Tony and Pepper decided to keep Peter home from school just for the time being while everything settled into place. 

They were trying to come up with a routine for Peter to help him adjust to his new life so he could feel safe and comfortable and stop wetting the bed as well as feel free to be a normal kid and not have to worry about getting hurt by the ones who were supposed to love and protect him. 

Tony got a call that morning letting him know that Ben Parker had been sent to prison for twenty five years for sexual assault of a child and May Parker had been sent to serve time for five years for not doing anything about what she knew about the sexual assault that was happening right in front of her eyes to her nephew. 

Both Tony and Pepper had sat Peter down after they got the call and told him the news. They were expecting Peter to be upset and start crying over the news but he just nodded his head in understanding and started crying silently as he crawled between Tony and Pepper and let them hold him. 

They held him there for a long time as they reassured him that they would always be there for him no matter what. After awhile, Tony brought Peter down to the lab to sit with him while he worked and Pepper made lynch for them. 

Now here they were, it was just past eight at night which was Peter’s bedtime but tonight was a little bit more complicated because Peter was scared about going to school the next day. 

“What if I miss you?” Peter asked sadly. He wiped his eyes with his pyjama shirt as he stood in front of Tony. 

Tony cupped Peter’s cheek with his hand and gently wiped the tear that fell down his sons face. “You’ll be having so much fun that you won’t even remember to miss me” 

Peter shook his head. “No. I wan’ stay here with you, daddy” 

Tony felt his heart burst. He seemed to stop breathing every time Peter called him daddy because it was the cutest thing and it made him want to hold Peter and never let go. 

“I know, baby, but we talked about this” Tony said softly “You’re ready to go to school tomorrow and learn as much as you can” 

Peter seemed to think about it for a few seconds then reluctantly nodded his head. He used both fists to wipe away his tears as Tony grabbed the pull-up from the bed and opened it up for Peter to step into. 

Peter shook his head after he looked at it. His accidents at nighttime had been happening less and less but they were still happening and as frustrating as it was, he knew that wearing a pull-up was better than waking up to a wet bed. 

“I know you don’t want to but it’ll help you get a full night’s sleep” Tony tried. He was sitting at the edge of his bed while Peter stood in front of him. 

It was their daily nighttime routine. Peter takes his bath in Tony’s and Peppers bathroom and then Tony helps him get dressed and ready for bed for eight o’clock. 

Peter always puts up a bit of a fight at the whole pull-up situation but his fights and weak and don’t last long due to how exhausted he already is. 

“Don’t wanna” Peter whined. He felt his lips start to wobble and his eyes burn with tears. 

Tony knows that Peter is over tired at this point so he leans down and starts helping Peter put his leg into the hole and then the other leg as he pulls the pull-up up to Peter’s waist and grabs his pyjama pants for him he speaks softly. “Don’t cry, Pete. Tomorrow is gonna be a great day, just you wait” 

Peter weakly nods his head and let’s Tony walk him into his bedroom. He moves the blankets back to let Peter climb up into his bed. 

As Tony swaddles Peter, he speaks to him softly. “Did you have fun today, Pete?”

Peter yawns and nods his head so Tony starts to run his hand through his baby soft curls. “Yeah? Tomorrow after I pick you up from school we’ll go get some ice cream. That sound fun?” 

Peter smiled and tiredly nods his head. Tony continued to brush back Peter’s hair with his hand for a few minutes until he knows that Peter is fast asleep so he slowly pressed a kiss to his kids head and moved to stand up. Just before Tony leaves he makes sure to turn on Peter’s night light so he doesn’t wake up scared in the middle of the night. 

When Tony leaves Peter’s bedroom, he leaves the door half open so that if Peter needs him during the night he can come and get him without feeling locked in his bedroom. Tony goes into the living room and finds Pepper sitting on the couch with a book in her hand. 

He sits down next to her and kisses her cheek as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. “Pete’s asleep” 

Pepper doesn’t look up from her book but Tony can tell that she’s smiling. “Yeah? Did he put up a fight tonight?” 

Tony shook his head and leaned it against her shoulder. “Not a big one. In a few more days he won’t need to wear pull-ups anymore because he’ll have gotten into a routine of school” 

Pepper leaned her head against Tony’s and let out a content sound. “Yeah, that’s true. He’s a lot better now, Tony. I can see a huge difference in him” 

Tony nods his head. “Yeah I know. Just today he was talking a mile a minute about some new LEGO set” 

They both then sat in comfortable silence, thinking about the huge process that Peter has made in his life with them so far. He’s already broken out of his shy shell and doesn’t flinch every time either of them make a loud noise or move too close to Peter unexpectedly. 

Tony couldn’t be happier with the progress. 

.  
.  
.

The next day was going to be a big day for Peter. 

Tony had to wake him up extra early to get him ready for school just in case any tantrums started because he doesn’t want his kid to be late on his first day back. 

Tony slowly stepped into Peter’s bedroom just after six o’clock in the morning. He was really surprised and happy that Peter stayed the whole night in his bed instead of joining Tony and Pepper in their bed in the middle of the night. 

“Wake up, buddy. It’s time for school” Tony sat on Peter’s bed and gently started to shake him awake. 

Peter slowly opened his eyes and let out a moan before leaning closer to Tony and reaching his hand out for the man. Tony smiled at his kid and took his smaller hand in his larger one. 

“I’ll help you get dressed and then you can eat breakfast” Tony pulled back the blankets and let Peter stretch as he walked over to his dresser and pulled out a blue sweater with science instruments on the front and blue jeans along with some underwear and socks. 

When Tony went back to Peter he was still lying down on his bed with his arms stretched above his head. Tony smiled at his son, he was so lucky to have him. 

“Did you stay dry all night, bud?” He asked then placed his clothes at the edge of the bed. 

Peter thought about it for a few seconds then shook his head sadly. Tony wasn’t surprised just because he expected it since today is a big day for Peter and he could see why the stress would cause Peter to wet himself in his sleep. 

“It’s okay, go brush your teeth and wash up then come get dressed” Peter nodded his head and got up to go to the bathroom to brush his teeth. 

While he was brushing his teeth, Peter took off his pyjama pants and kicked them into his bedroom and tried to take off his shirt but he couldn’t do that while he was brushing his teeth. 

Tony finished making Peter’s bed just in time for Peter to come walking out of the bathroom already half taking off his pyjama top. 

“I’m excited for after school when we go to the ice cream place” Peter said excitedly. “I think I’m gonna get vanilla and chocolate!” 

Tony grabbed Peter’s pyjama shirt from him and threw it on his bed before walking into the bathroom with Peter following behind him. 

“Vanilla and chocolate, huh?” Tony smiled at his son's excitement. He pulled the pull-up off of Peter and tossed it in the garage then handed Peter the wipes so he can clean himself. 

“Yeah! I like to mix them together because it tastes better that way” Peter explained. 

“Oh I know, Pete, I know from all of our vanilla and chocolate movie nights” Tony patted Peter’s hair down and enjoyed the giggle that his kid let out. 

Tony then sat on the bed and waiting for Peter to put his clothes on so they could head to the kitchen to get breakfast. 

Peter spotted Pepper and excitedly ran up to her. “Good morning, mommy!” 

Both adults froze on the spot. Peter had never called her mommy before. Tony and Pepper both made eye contact before Pepper regained her composure and patted Peter on the back, not making a big deal out of it. 

“Good morning to you, Peter. Are you hungry for some pancakes?” Peter nodded his head with a bright smile on his face and climbed up on the kitchen stool and began kicking his feet back and forth. 

“You have to eat too, daddy” Peter pointed out once Pepper placed a plate of food in front of himself but not Tony. Peter glared at Tony and tried to muster his best annoyed face but it wasn’t really working. 

Tony took a sip of his coffee and ruffled Peter’s hair. “This is my breakfast, buddy. I don’t want any pancakes” 

Peter continued to stare at Tony until he decided that Tony was fine so he went back to eating his breakfast. 

After breakfast it required a change of a shirt because Peter had dripped the syrup all down his face and the front of his shirt. 

Eventually, Tony managed to get Peter in a coat and shoes and into his car seat. “Are you still picking me up after school, daddy?” 

Tony nodded his head. The stupid buckles on Peter’s car seat were stuck and it was making it extremely hard to get Peter buckled in. “Yes! I did it!” 

“Good job, daddy!” Peter patted his dad on the head then Tony stood up straight and patted Peter on the head back causing his kid to giggle. 

“And yes, Pete. I’m still picking you up after school and you’re gonna eat vanilla and chocolate ice cream” Tony waited for Peter’s happy squeal before he shut the car door and got into the driver's seat, starting the car and pulling out of the garage. 

The car ride to Peter’s school was filled with Peter talking about that same LEGO set that he was talking about the other day. Tony had no idea where this talk came from because Peter doesn’t have this LEGO set. That’s why Tony knows what he’s gonna be doing after he drops Peter off at school. 

When Tony pulled up to the school, he parked the car in the furthers parking spot that he could find so he has time to walk with Peter before he had to say goodbye to him for a few hours. 

As they got closer to the school, the car ride became silent so Tony still hoped his kid was in a good mood. 

Tony opened the back door and looked at Peter’s wobbling lip and the tears in his eyes. “Oh baby, don’t cry. Remember what we’re gonna do after school? Just think about all the fun and smile again, okay?”

Peter nodded his head sadly so Tony undid the buckles and lifted Peter into his arms after Peter silently demanded to be carried. Tony swung his backpack over his other shoulder and started walking towards the school with Peter on his hip. 

They were just ten minutes late but some parents were still dropping their kids off at school so Tony wasn’t worried about it. 

He walked with Peter into the office and placed him on his feet. Peter immediately started whining and reaching up for him again but Tony shook his head. “Nope. We talked about this, Pete. There’s gonna be no tears today” 

Tony focused his attention on the receptionist at the front so Peter would see that he’s not looking at him and stop crying. 

Tony knows that Peter is really emotional and often wants to be carried around everywhere or treated like a baby when he cries but Tony and Pepper have noticed that if they don’t make eye contact with Peter when he starts acting like this then he won’t start crying and having a tantrum. 

“I’m here to sign in Peter Stark” Tony told the lady who slid over a sign in binder over to him. He quickly wrote down Peter’s name and then put the backpack on Peter’s shoulders. 

“N-no, I want to stay with you” Peter cried out and tried to reach up for Tony again. He got frustrated when Tony didn’t pick him up so he started kicking his feet. 

Tony was not about to let Peter have a tantrum right now after they worked so hard the past week to prevent that. 

“Peter, stop” Tony said firmly and bent down to be at Peter’s level. “We talked about this, you are not going to start crying after I leave here because it’s only for a few hours and then I’ll see you again” 

Peter kept crying so Tony sighed and held his arms out for the boy. “Can you give me a hug before I leave?” 

Peter seemed to think about it before slowly wiping his tears on his sleeve and nodding his head, moving closer to Tony. Tony wrapped his arms tightly around Peter but not for too long because he didn’t want to send Peter into another tantrum seeing as this one seemed to be coming to an end. Hopefully. 

When Tony pulled away, he wiped the leftover of Peter’s tears and pressed a kiss to his head. “I’ll see you after school” 

As much as it hurt Tony, he stood up straight and started walking out of the school without looking back. He knew he couldn’t look back because if he did then Peter would run up to him and never let go and he had to get Peter back to school again. 

.  
.  
.

In Tony’s opinion the day was going by excruciating long. 

After Tony left Peter he sat in his car in the parking lot for about an hour just in case the school called saying that Peter needed him. That never happened so Tony then drove to the nearest toy shop and bought Peter that LEGO set that he had been talking about for so long. 

The day then just kept getting slower and slower as if time had stopped. Tony would be lying if he said he didn’t miss Peter. He missed him so much and he just wanted it to be three o’clock so he could pick his kid up from school and hold him in his arms again. 

After many long hours later, Tony was finally standing in Peter’s school yard, waiting for the bell to ring and for his bright eyed boy to come running out. 

Once the bell rang and kids started running out the doors, Tony was on high alert for his kid. He spotted Peter before the kid spotted him. Peter’s eyes crossed over everyone in the yard before his eyes landed on Tony. 

Peter’s eyes immediately widened and a huge smile appeared on his face as he ran over towards Tony, almost tripping over himself a few times. 

“Daddy! Daddy!” Peter yelled and as soon as he was in reach, Tony picked Peter up and set him on his hip. 

“Hi, Petey! How was school?” Tony kissed Peter on the head and kept walking towards his car. Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s neck and leaned his head against his shoulder. 

“Good. I painted and did math and then I missed you” Peter let out a yawn which was a good sign that he kept busy today. 

“Oh really? In that order?” Tony liked Peter in the side and smiled with Peter started giggling. 

“No! I missed you all the time, daddy” Peter looked at Tony with that little goofy smile of his. 

That sentence melted Tony’s heart. “I missed you too, baby and I got a surprise for you” 

“Really? What?” Peter started bouncing in his arms so Tony placed him on his feet then opened the car door revealing the LEGO set that Tony just bought for Peter on his car seat. “Is this for me?! Thank you! Thank you daddy! I love it so much!” 

Peter started bouncing up and down on the spot and reached up for Tony so Tony scooped him into his arms and planted a bunch of kisses on his face. “You’re welcome! It’s for staying at school all day today. I’m so proud of you” 

Peter smiled brightly, he loved it when daddy complimented him. He then reached for his LEGO set so Tony placed him in the car and moved the LEGO set so Peter could sit down. 

After doing up the buckles for Peter, Tony shut the door and drove to the ice cream place as promised. 

Just like Peter said, he ordered a vanilla and chocolate scoop while Tony just got chocolate. 

“Yummy for my tummy! So good!” Peter bounced in his seat across from Tony as he ate his ice cream. Tony watched his kid be happy and he promised himself to always do whatever he could to make Peter be this happy. 

“You’re gonna turn your ice cream into a milkshake in your tummy if you don’t stop bouncing, Petey” Tony laughed but he was being serious. He didn’t want Peter to throw up on him. 

“But it’s so yummy yummy!” Peter yelled excitedly. 

By the time they got home, Pepper was sitting on the couch watching tv when Peter ran up to her. He was covered in ice cream and Tony had no idea how he got it all in his hair and even on his pants but this was Peter he’s talking about so he wasn’t surprised. 

“Hi Peter! How was school?” Pepper asked excitedly. He let Peter climb into her lap then she pressed a bunch of kisses to his face. 

“Good, mommy! Me and daddy got ice cream” Peter licked his lips over exaggeratedly to prove his story. 

“Hmmm, I can see that. Did daddy not wash your face after?” Pepper directed that comment at Tony with no real heat behind her words. 

“Nope” Peter shook his head. 

“Hey, way to rat me out, kid” Tony fake crossed his arms and sat down on the couch. Peter only looked at him and laughed before leaning his head against Pepper. 

“Seems like you had a busy day today, Petey?” Pepper observed. She gently started running her hand through the kids sticky hair as Peter nodded his head, agreeing with her. “How about daddy gives you a bath then we can all watch a movie together?” 

Peter nodded his head again, this time with a little bit more excitement. 

“You were right, daddy” Peter said as Tony leaned over the bathtub to shampoo his hair. 

“About what, bud?” 

“About school. It was fun” Peter continued to play with one of his toy action figures that he brought in the bath with him. “Tomorrow we’re gonna learn about chemistry. I’m excited” 

Tony felt like crying at that. They worked so hard to give Peter time to heal and talk him through everything while also giving him the love and support that he needed, although it wasn’t always easy and they still were going to have a lot of hard days but at least Peter was happy. That’s all that mattered. 

“See I told you” Tony rinsed his hands in the water and gently leaned Peter back so he could rinse his hair. “I’m glad that you’re excited to go back tomorrow, it’s gonna be even better” 

Peter nodded. He let Tony rinse his hair out and then finished washing the rest of his body as Tony grabbed a towel for him to step out into. Tony dried him off the best he could and pulled the plug out of the bathtub then going into his bedroom. 

Tony sat on his bed and had Peter stand in front of him just like their every night routine. 

“Do you know what movie you wanna watch?” Tony asked as he took the towel from around Peter and started to dry his hair. 

“No. Maybe we can watch Frozen again?” Peter suggested. Tony had watched Frozen with Peter about 500 times that he could act it out for the kid if he wanted him to. 

“If you want to them we will” Tony would have to put up with it one more time. If it makes Peter happy though then he’d watch it a million more times. 

“Yay!” 

Tony grabbed a pull-up and opened it up for Peter to step into. “Step in” 

“Not tonight, daddy” Peter whined. He thought he was doing better with the whole bed wetting thing. 

Tony sighed. “Peter, you know you have to. At least until you have a dry streak of three nights and remember last night” 

Peter looked down in shame. Tony gently used his index finger to lift his kids head up. “Don’t be embarrassed or sad about it, Peter. No one is mad at you for breaking your dry streak last night and you shouldn’t be either. It will come eventually and when that day comes then you won’t need pull-ups anymore but until then you need to wear them, okay?” 

Peter weakly nodded his head and stepped into the pull-up so Tony could pull it up his waist. Peter then put his top on and his mood immediately got better because he remembered that they were all gonna watch Frozen tonight so he ran out of his parents' bedroom and into the living room before Tony had a chance to get his pyjama pants on him. 

“Mommy! I wanna watch Frozen tonight” Peter ran and jumped on the couch next to Pepper and then stood up to grab the remote off the tv stand. Peter looked over and saw Tony walking into the room waving his pyjama pants in the air but Peter only shook his head with a cheeky grin and moved to run into the kitchen but Tony grabbed him by the waist and held him upside down. 

“Where do you think you’re going mr” Tony held Peter by the legs with one arm and used his other one to tickle Peter’s stomach. 

Peter reached out for Pepper. “Ah! Help me, mommy!” Peter giggled out but Tony didn’t give her a chance to because he spun Peter around so he was sitting on his hip. 

“Sorry. You’re mine now, Pete. No mommy can save you” Despite the playful screams for Pepper before, Peter placed his head on Tony’s shoulder with content and let out a yawn. 

“Someone’s tired” Pepper pointed out. She pressed play for the movie but both adults knew Peter wouldn’t last longer than thirty minutes. 

Tony quickly walked with Peter into the kitchen and poured him a glass of milk before walking with Peter back into the living room. 

He placed Peter between him and Pepper and let Peter drink his milk then pulling him into his side. It only took Peter twenty minutes to fall asleep with his head in Tony’s lap. 

“Should we bring him to bed now?” Pepper whispered. Tony looked up at her from where he was looking at Peter and nodded. 

He carefully picked Peter up as Pepper turned off the tv. As they were about to place Peter in his bed, he woke up and let out a whine. 

“Can I sleep with you tonight, daddy?” Peter asked. Tony couldn’t say no to him. Today was such a big day for him and he knew that tomorrow was going to be even better. 

He looked over at Pepper who was nodding so he turned around and started walking into his and Peppers bedroom. “Yeah, baby. You can” 

Tony placed Peter in the middle of the bed and then he got in on one side and Pepper got in on the other side. Peter immediately latch onto Tony’s chest and sighed contently against him. 

“I love you mommy and daddy” Peter mumbled out half asleep but Tony knew he meant every word. “I’m so glad that you guys are my mommy and daddy now” 

Both Tony and Pepper looked up at each other before they both pressed kisses to Peter’s head. 

“We both love you so much, Peter” Tony said then hugged Peter a little bit tighter. “And nothing will ever change that” 

Tony meant every word of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is so crazy that this is the last chapter. It feels so weird because I remember like it was yesterday when I got this idea and started writing it and how I fell in love with this story. This is my very first fic that I’m actually ending and it’s really emotional for me because that’s one less fic for me to write and just:( but I just want to say thank you thank you thank you to everyone who commented and supported me on this fic! I love you all so much so thank you:)


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